Buildings and Grounds

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The citizens of Normandy passed a bond allowing Normandy School District officials to purchase the Bellerive Country Club for $600,000 in 1957. This 128 acre tract of land included a club house, golf course, swimming pool, volleyball and tennis courts, and lake.

Edward Monaco, President of Normandy Board of Education, signs papers establishing the University of Missouri Normandy Residence Center. Behind him on his left is Ward E. Barnes, Superintendent of the Normandy School District, c. 1960

Bellerive Country Club, c. late 1950s, was the only building on campus until Benton Hall was built in 1966. It was known as the Administration Building and housed classrooms, offices, and the library.

Fire safety plan of the Administration Building, 1968

Members of Bellerive Country Club often swam in what later became known as Bugg Lake--named after the University's first Chancellor, James Bugg

Entrance off Natural Bridge Road into the University of Missouri Normandy Residence Center as the campus was called between 1960-1963.

As enrollments grew, University of Missouri officials expressed an interest in turning the Normandy Residence Center into a four year UM campus. In the Fall of 1963 with over 600 students enrolled, Normandy School District proudly committed its campus to the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Over 100 people turned out for the dedication ceremonies as the Normandy Residence Center became the University of Missouri-St. Louis on September 15, 1963. The ceremony was held on the site now occupied by Woods Hall.

Aerial view of campus looking southwest. Excavation for construction of the J.C. Penney building in foreground. Benton and Stadler Halls shown in background. Administration Building, the former Bellerive Country Club club house shown in middle.

Aerial view of campus looking northeast showing Benton and Stadler Halls, Administration Building Thomas Jefferson Library and Clark Hall, c. 1969.

Workers transporting books out of the Administration Building library to be placed in the newly constructed Thomas Jefferson Library, 1969.

Susan Freegard, UM St. Louis' first library director, oversees the move into the newly built Thomas Jefferson Library, 1969.

In 1969, UMSL received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare to provide recreational activities for inner city youth. Athletic facilities on campus provided over 200 St. Louis area youth a chance to hone their skills. Thomas Jefferson Library in background.

Swimming and sunbathing in front of the Thomas Jefferson Library, c. 1970s, The pool was opened to full-time days students in May of 1965. The pool was built in 1932 as part of the Bellerive Country Club.

The Fun Palace, near Bugg Lake, provided students a place to play ping pong or pool or enjoy a snack. The building originally contained the Physics department labs and was known as the Physics Annex.

Leonard Slatkin directs the St. Louis Symphony orchestra in a free concert on the athletic fields, 1977. Airplane traffic was temporarily redirected to ensure good acoustics.

Marillac Campus, also known as the South Campus, was previously the site of Marillac College, a four year liberal arts school run by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul. Marillac College opened in 1958 to educate Catholic sisters and offered degrees in teacher education, nursing and social work. The Daughters of Charity began subdividing their property as enrollments dropped in the early 1970s. The University of Missouri-St. Louis purchased the Marillac Campus in 1976 for $5 million. The School of Education and the Education Library became its first occupants. In 1998, UMSL acquired the Marillac Provincial House and six other buildings from the Daughters of Charity.

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