New on Campus: The Hameetman Center

The Caltech community now has a new place to gather. The Hameetman Center, named in honor of Caltech trustee Fred Hameetman (BS ’62) and his wife, Joyce, features a large public lounge, an expanded Red Door Marketplace, the Caltech Store, music-rehearsal facilities, student-club rooms, a multipurpose room, and a conference room.

The rehearsal space is made possible by a gift from Steven Frautschi, emeritus professor of theoretical physics, and his wife, Mie.

Though the venerable Engelmann oak that stood for more than 350 years between Dabney Hall and Parsons-Gates succumbed to disease two years ago, its memory will live on in the Hameetman Center. Ed Rhoads, manager of Caltech’s architectural shops and trades, in collaboration with davidkremers, who serves on the campus arts committee, has designed a 24-foot table for the Red Door Marketplace using wood from the tree. The two long edges of the table will follow the natural shape of the wood, forming what is known as a live edge

Diners eat lunch at the long table made from the wood of Caltech's famed Engelmann oak.

An earlier student hub known as the Dugout (opened in 1924) featured a fireplace built with the proceeds of a fundraiser in which engraved bricks were offered for a dollar apiece. The fireplace wall, composed of bricks bearing names of students, clubs, and donors, has been incorporated into the Hameetman Center on the Olive Walk side of the building. On February 28, a final brick, honoring the Hameetmans, will be placed in the center of the wall at a special dedication ceremony.

This bas-relief terracotta beaver, now located on the main staircase landing wall, was originally created for the Winnett Student Center by sculptor Albert Stewart (1900–1965).