With 676 buildings — 203 for academics, 154 for agriculture, 245 for housing and food service and 74 others — it might be difficult to pick just which places on campus to visit. Here are some student, faculty and alumni favorites:
Beaumount Tower Standing at a towering 105 feet tall, Beaumont Tower — located on West Circle Drive — was completed in 1928 as a gift from John and Alice Beaumont from the class of 1882. The tower, originally costing $110,437, had more than $1 million in replacement costs in 1992 and currently has 49 bells. An inscription inside the tower reads: "For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing, anxion being e'er resigned, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing lingering behind?" The rock on Farm Lane There's rarely two days in a row where this landmark stays the same color, as it is a student tradition to paint the rock, education freshman Nicki Golen said. Simply called "the rock," the large stone located near the Auditorium on Farm Lane was a gift from the class of 1873. Greek life, sports teams, birthdays and events are always on it, Golen said. "For a 21st birthday, someone had written, 'Drink up,' on it with around 50 little martini glasses," she said. "There's always something new." The Dairy Store An MSU student favorite, the Dairy Store offers not only 32 flavors of ice cream (at the Anthony Hall location — the Union store has about 12), but an array of other products — all made on MSU's campus, said John Partridge, an associate professor in food science and human nutrition. "The products are excellent," he said. "It's nice when you've been working hard. It's a great little reward." The store carries yogurt, juices, milk and other dairy items, and has even shipped some of their products, including cheese and ice cream, to places such as Florida and California, Partridge said. "It's not cheap, because we have to overnight the ice cream on dry ice," he said. "But when you have an alum that has to have some ice cream at that basketball party that they're having, some of the them are willing to spring for the big one." The Dairy Store now has two locations — 107 Union and 1140 S. Anthony Hall. 4-H Children's Gardens On the corner of Wilson Road and Bogue Street, the 4-H Children's Gardens are about one-half of an acre of more than 50 different theme gardens, garden curator Norman Lownds said. "There are teddy bear and animal gardens, butterfly gardens and cereal bowl gardens," he said. "It's a small space with a ton of color." Lownds said it is a wonderful place for people who like plants, but there are interactive things to do, as well. "There are sensitive plants that close up when you touch them and eyeball plants with flowers that look like eyes looking at you," he said. "But my personal favorite is the pizza garden." The Spartan statue "The Spartan," a statue that symbolizes the university's athletic teams, was designed and produced by Leonard D. Jungwirt. It stands 10 feet 6 inches and is mounted on a brick-and-concrete base 5 feet 4 inches high — one of the largest free-standing ceramic figures in the world. Located at Red Cedar Road and Kalamazoo Street, the statue really gives off the essence of what it means to be Spartan, human biology junior Andrew Cousino said. "It's tall and intimidating," he said. "And definitely something to be proud of." Cousino said one of his favorite stories about the statue is hearing that some students tried to paint it maize and blue, but their plan was foiled when it rained and the statue turned green. "I don't know if it's true," he said. "But it's a great story. I love seeing how protective we have become of Sparty, especially during football season." The marching band began guarding the Spartan statue when the football team took on the University of Michigan to make sure it didn't get painted during the week, Spartan Marching Band member Andy Keilen said. He said the band hangs out for a week, guarding the statue and showing their MSU pride. "It's not an obligation," he said. "It's a good time and it's part of our tradition." Abrams Planetarium Named for Talbert and Leota Abrams, the Abrams Planetarium on the northeast corner of Shaw Lane and Science Road first opened in 1963. It consists of three sections — the Exhibit Hall, the Blacklight Gallery and the SkyTheater. The planetarium, which offers many public shows, is a nice, relaxing place to visit, office manager Mary Gowans said. "There's no mosquitoes or hot air on summer evenings," she said. "And in the winter, it's warm and not snowing on you when you look at the sky." Gowans said she enjoys watching the change in the seasons with the new constellations. "It's fun to look up in the sky and say, 'There's Orion!' or to keep track of what Venus and Saturn and Jupiter are doing," she said. "It's a nice way to spend a Saturday evening, with plenty of time to go out with friends afterwards." Red Cedar River Katie McAuliffe, a 2000 alumna, said she can remember canoeing up to Meijer on the Red Cedar River, which flows far beyond the campus of MSU. It runs about 45 miles through Okemos, East Lansing and Lansing, emptying into the Grand River. "It's really peaceful, and it's a nice way to get away from all the traffic in the city," McAuliffe said. During the warm spring months, she said students put out blankets around the river and study in the sun. The name of the river is featured in the first line of MSU's fight song: "On the banks of the Red Cedar."
