Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

60 was 112 feet wide, and an average of 56 feet in height, and had a seating capacity of over four thousand. The full basement below the auditorium had a large class room in the ~~enter--With a seating capacity of 875, flanked on . both sides by class rooms with movable partitions which opened into the main room providing a total seating capacity of 1525. The thirteen-story build- ings had a total of 683 rooms. These buildings were connected by an inclosed corridor crossing above the entrance of the auditorium. this corridor was several feet wide and contained a number of rooms. At the sixth floor level were the offices of the Church of the Open Door; the seventh floor level was used for the school library, and the eighth floor level, called the "Social Lounge," was used for the School's Social activities and doubled for class rooms. Beneath the dormitory, in a two-level basement, was housed the steam boilers for heating the facilities and the electrical generator which pro- vided electricity for the buildings. Beneath the North dormitory, in a two- level basement was h:::>used the school kitchen. The dining room was on the first floor above the kitchen. The buildings were occupied in 1915. In 1919, the indebtedness incurred through the sale of bonds to complete the construction was liquidated. At last Biola had a home. It seemed their needs for both the present and future had been met. HOwever, those connected with the School at that time could not possibly foresee the day when those facilities would no longer be adequate from every angle, including space, location, and so forth. They supposed this would be Biola's home until the Lord's return. However, history has proved otherwise. After World War II, as stated, the Board was faced with the problem of enlarging the facilities and relocating the cru~pus.

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