Christmas Dance, Navy Pier Campus (1946) – CARLI Digital Collections Featured Image

Exactly 68 years ago today, students dressed to the nines and enjoyed their Christmas dance at the University of Illinois Navy Pier Campus. The university created the temporary campus in 1946 to accommodate the large number of veterans who wanted to take advantage of the GI Bill; students could enroll in a two-year undergraduate program and then transfer downstate to finish their degrees. At the time, Chicago was one of a handful of major cities in the U.S. that did not have a public university, so students eagerly enrolled by the thousands that October. The Navy Pier classes were the beginning of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Along with the Christmas dance, Navy Pier students had planned a number of other social events, including Homecoming, a spring formal, and the Farmer's Ball. They developed sports teams and activity clubs. They were determined to make their time at the cramped commuter school as comprehensive as possible! For more information about the Navy Pier campus, visit http://www.uic.edu/depts/uichistory/navypier2.html.

Written by Anne Shelley, Illinois State University

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