At 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, I stood in the unusually temperate fall sun calmly waiting for the Campus Connector to drop me off for my self-guided tour of the St. Paul Campus. I cordially invite you, dear reader, to follow me on my tour; with the goal to inform and educate you on the activities and destinations of our splendid sister to the east.

By 1:50 p.m., after a pleasant ride on the bus, I end up on the South exterior of the St. Paul Student Center. Stepping off of the bus, the verdure of the agricultural-education dominated campus is a refreshing jolt from the typically scentless East and West Banks. Turning south, I first notice the vast expanse of greenery known as “The Lawn.”

Described as “a symbolic front lawn, welcoming visitors to the campus” by the Campus Heritage Marker at the threshold of one of the Lawn’s pathways, the field is a benevolent introduction to St. Paul. Though much of the vegetation has succumbed to the perils of autumn, the tans and saffron shades present a comfortable November setting. I travel south along one of the many well-manicured paths that slash through the lawn like a scythe, down Cleveland Avenue, then back east over the grass field toward the cow statues that reside on the corner of Eckles Avenue and Carter Avenue, observing the abundance of squirrels preparing for the rapidly-approaching winter. Please, follow along, there is still much to see.

The statues consist of three facially non-descript black cows lying down in various positions, exemplifying the environmental consciousness of some of St. Paul’s major disciplines.

As I turn north onto Eckles, I pass Haecker Hall, home to the Animal Science Department. At this time, I will ask that if anyone needs a restroom break, they use the facilities of Haecker Hall; the best restrooms on either campus. The wonderfully aromatic crimson and cream animal-tiled facilities are a delight to anyone fortunate enough to utilize them.

Continuing on, I walk down the staircase just north of Haecker Hall leading to Fitch Avenue. I hike down Fitch towards the Gabbert Raptor Center, passing the construction site of the Ben Pomeroy Student-Alumni Learning Center on my right. With a projected opening in early 2007, the converted 1907 dairy barn will serve as additional classrooms, seminar rooms and offices for the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The further east I move along Fitch, the closer the Gabbert Raptor Center becomes. A small, one-story building with a boxy metal façade, the Raptor Center is responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of approximately 800 birds a year. As I enter, there is an interesting smell of wood and small animal bedding. After dwelling in the lobby for a few moments admiring the avian décor, I find the motivation to approach the front desk.

“Would you like a tour?” asks Amanda, the cheerful volunteer working behind the counter. The tour begins with a brief explanation of the Raptor Center and a look at the four viewing cages adjacent to the lobby. Amanda states that the Center is privately funded and more or less run by volunteers with the main purposes of student education and rehabilitation for injured raptors. After our brief stay inside, we exit the back door out to where the rest of the birds reside. The back display area is a complex arrangement of wooden staircases forming a pathway around the cages. Amanda provides fascinating facts about the wide array of raptors and the manner in which they arrived at the Center. In its entirety, the tour takes merely 20 minutes, but I feel like it could have lasted much longer.

As I exit back out onto the campus, a man walks a dog nearby; the small animal hospital is close, and numerous canines can be seen throughout the area, a trend that differs greatly from the East and West Banks. The sun shines brightly as I walk north up Gortner Avenue, then west on Buford Avenue, approaching McNeal Hall, home to the Goldstein Gallery. I trudge up the hill towards the southeast entrance, admiring the foliage of the nearby plants and trees.

At about 2:30 p.m. I enter the back door of McNeal Hall to find numerous students meticulously working on design projects; McNeal is home to DHA, the School of Design, Housing and Apparel. Being relatively lazy, I opt to take the elevator up to the 2nd floor, the location of the Goldstein Gallery of Design.

Though the gallery consists of one modest room, it is a must-see for anyone interested in the field of fashion. The current exhibition, American Fashion Transformed: Four Master Designers, explores the work of Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene, Norman Norell and Pauline Trigère. All of these designers flourished in post-WWII America, leaving their influence on the fashion industry. The collected work in the gallery is a captivating insight into the post-war world of fashion.

Leaving the Gallery, I walk down the stairs and out the front door of the atrium onto Buford Circle. Stay close, there is only one stop left, and it will definitely be worth your while.

I briskly trace the sidewalk west on Buford and then south on Eckles. After passing three buildings on the left, I come upon the Andrew Boss Laboratory-Meat Science Building. Pushed back from the street, the edifice appears distant. As I approach down the sidewalk, I notice numerous students eating ice cream at a picnic table. I enter through the doors shortly after 3 p.m. and make an immediate right, taking the hallway to its near-end, until I reach room 166.

Room 166 houses the Dairy Food Products Salesroom. Each Wednesday, from 3 to 5 p.m. only, the Food Science and Nutrition Department hosts a sale of ice cream, frozen yogurt and cheese “made from production classes or from control lots of student projects for the sole purpose of recouping funds for teaching and student research projects,” according to the Department’s website.

With over 50 flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurt ranging from Green Tea to Pumpkin to Blueberry Cheesecake, at $2.50 a pint, the sale is a definite bargain. The sale also includes well over a dozen varieties of cheeses, appealing to the Wisconsinite in all of us.

I leave the sale, ice cream and spoon in hand, and proceed down Eckles back towards the bus stop outside of the St. Paul Student Center. I ride back to the East Bank, reflecting on the multiple untapped splendors that the unappreciated St. Paul Campus has to offer. Often times the simple pleasures are the most fulfilling. I hope the tour was beneficial to you, dear reader; and yes, gratuity is always welcome.

Tags: St. Paul