Re: BEg2 ch11 “the fence” CMU lore

[Mark Kohut]

The Fence saved and the tradition continuing wonderfully in what one can
see as the self-organizing
way of the old meaning of (limited) anarchism.

On Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 12:50 AM Michael Bailey <
michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:

> Maxine: Carefully, “When’s the last time you saw her?” (Her being Tallis,
> March’s daughter)
>
> March:         “Carnegie Mellon when she got her M.B.A. Years now. I wasn’t
> even invited, but I went anyhow. Even from where I was, way in the back,
> she was radiant. I lurked around the Fence there for a while hoping she’d
> come by.”
>
>
>
> https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-fence-pittsburgh-pennsylvania
>
> Once the most painted on object in the world, this short campus fence is
> well on its way to being so again.
>
> CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS PAINTED a fence for 70 years, with the
> Guinness Book of World Records calling it “the most painted object in the
> world” with six inches of paint covering it. It would collapse under the
> weight of all those coats in 1993, but a new concrete fence was built to
> replace it. Today, students carry on the tradition of painting the Fence at
> night.
>
> Fences used to surround a bridge over a ravine on the property when the
> Carnegie Institute of Technology was established in Pittsburgh in 1900. The
> bridge was a popular meeting place for students at the time. Further
> construction would lead to the ravine being filled in over the early years
> of the school, and the bridge and its fences no longer being necessary. To
> commemorate the favored meeting spot, the graduating Class of 1923 built a
> picket fence on the site to keep tradition alive. However, school officials
> decided that it was an eyesore and should be brought down. The night before
> the fence was to come down, a fraternity painted it with a party
> announcement, and due to the fence’s central location on campus, it was the
> largest party in school history. The administration yielded, and the Fence
> continued to be a billboard for student groups, becoming covered with layer
> upon layer of paint.
>
> The painting would continue for 70 more years until it collapsed under the
> weight of its painted layers in 1993. To carry on the tradition, a
> steel-reinforced concrete fence was built on the site, and students
> continue to paint it to this day. Tradition dictates that the Fence must
> only be painted at night, from midnight to 6 AM, in its entirety, using
> only brushes. If a group wants to keep the message up over a few days, the
> Fence must be guarded around the clock with at least two students. The
> Fence has once again accumulated four inches of paint covering it, catching
> up to the record set by the old Fence one layer at a time.
> Know Before You Go
>
> On the Carnegie Mellon University campus, the Fence sits in front of
> Doherty Hall.
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>