Growth of the 1960s
Because the size of the school did not increase dramatically, 88 Hanover Street was a suitable location until the 1960s. By that time, the school’s standing was on the rise, with accreditation as a two year business school by the Accrediting Commission for Business Schools in 1960. On June 24, 1963 the school was authorized to grant associate and bachelor degrees by the New Hampshire State Legislature. These changes drove a dramatic increase in the number of students enrolling in the school and also increased the amount of time that they would spend there from one to two years to two to four years. This growth necessitated expansion beyond the confines of 88 Hanover Street into a variety of nearby buildings which became somewhat facetiously known as "Hanover U."
Gertrude Shapiro discussed the expansions of the 1960s as follows:
“It was at this time with our use of the Palace Theatre and the Odd Fellows' Building that the other tenants on Hanover Street began to think that we had given them the "evil eye" so that we could have the space. Every time someone moved out we moved in.”
The first expansion occurred in 1962 with the renting of a classroom in the Odd Fellows building at 83 Hanover Street.
In 1963 three classrooms were rented in the basement of 99 Hanover Street, across the street from the Athens Building.
In 1964 eight classrooms and a conference room were leased at 404 Chestnut Street. Walls were demolished and a ramp installed to connect these facilities with the 88 Hanover Street space. For the first time, advertisements for the College listed its location not as “88 Hanover Street,” but rather as “Hanover and Chestnut Streets”
There was administrative recognition that the facilities of the College were an issue, with growing the library and student lounge space cited as top priorities. In the March, 1965 issue of the Pen, Edward Shapiro was quoted:
“At the present time the college has no intention of moving its location. The college does realize, however, that a physical change must take place within its present facilities to accommodate the influx of anticipated students for the school year 1965-1966.”
For the time being, the strategy was to continue the downtown expansion, with the lease of space at 410 Chestnut Street for offices for the Student Government and Student Newspaper as well as additional classroom space in existing buildings. A large space was rented in the Odd Fellows building for use as a student lounge.
By 1964 the adjoining Palace Theatre had become available for use by the College. It was used for "orientation programs, registration, scheduling, assemblies and other special events." The Freshman Assembly in September of 1964 is the first recorded College event held in the space. The theater had fallen on hard times, and instructor Mary Brown recalled its condition:
“I remember when the Palace Theatre was not in the greatest shape. It was dirty and when you turned up the lights you saw an occasional rat…”
The theater, however, opened up the opportunity for new kinds of activities, including a speaker series which was open to the public that began in 1968. Mary Brown continued:
“…but we had some of the best speakers. I am proud to say that I kind of fostered some of these programs. We had many speakers such as Ralph Nader, Elizabeth McCarthy, David Susskind, Timothy Leary, (I voted against him and it was one of the many times I lost,) and Max Lerner, who was Publisher and Editor of P.M. I can't recall all the speakers we did have. I was put on the committee and we had some really good people and I think it established us in the community.”
In 1966 the second and third floor of 99 Hanover Street were leased for office space, additional space was leased at 83 Hanover Street for a combination snack bar and lounge and additional offices.
The school created its first formal library in 1960 in association with accreditation. The school’s book and periodical collection were stored in a stockroom that had formerly been an office for a shoe worker’s union. In 1965, the library had two rooms - big enough for tables and chairs, books, students and Bea Jordan, the librarian. In 1966, one wall was pushed into the hallway providing 100 more square feet of space.
In 1967, ground floor space at 96 Hanover Street was rented to provide a larger space for the library. Ann Shapiro described the movement of the library as follows:
“The books had to be transported down a hallway, over a graveled roof and then down the fire escape over which was built a chute. Banana boxes were obtained from the Federal Market. Peter Perich, head of maintenance, supervised the construction of the chute, which was made to fit the size of a banana box. Steve Russe walked the books down the slide. Metal carts were used to transport the books at the top and at the bottom of the slide. Sandy Goodchild and Maureen Bulcock kept them in order.”
Subsequently, the Candlelight Restaurant, next to the library, had a serious fire and didn't reopen. The space was leased, restored, and by breaking through two walls, the library was expanded.
According to librarian Bea Jordan, the ground floor location of the new library was a little too appealing to local residents: “The front looked so impressive and interesting. However, to some of our residents, the check-out desk looked like a bar and therefore very inviting. So, we frosted the front doors and put on the college seal.”
Meanwhile, the former library location was converted into 7 foot by seven foot offices for administrators, Gertrude Shapiro’s office was subdivided to make room for a bursar, and a secretary was housed in a former closet. A former classroom was used as faculty meeting space and, when needed at the start of terms, as a book store. By 1970 there were nolonger classrooms at 88 Hanover Street, the entire space having been taken over for administrative and faculty activity.
Before 1968, student housing was exclusively provided by outside entities. The Cadillac Hotel on Chestnut Street and several floors of the Carpenter Hotel had been used to house male students, and the Y.W.C.A., Marshall Hall, and the home-residency plan had provided housing for many of the female students. A June 1965 article in The Pen stated:
“Next year, all non-commuting or "dormitory" sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be responsible for securing their own living quarters. Girls are reminded that they must have permission to change their residence. If any assistance is needed President Shapiro is available for advice on housing.”
By 1968 it was clear that this system was decreasingly adequate. That summer, the Carpenter Hotel decided that it would no longer accept New Hampshire College Students, and the college was left with a short period of time to resolve the housing issue before the beginning of the school year.
Just a few blocks from the campus, a solution was waiting. Gertrude Shapiro recalled her discussion with Edward Shapiro regarding the purchase of the Warren’s Hotel at 32 Merrimack Street, which had been vacant for several years:
“One year, while I was in Maine, the Carpenter Hotel decided that they would no longer provide for housing for our students. My son called me home. He said, ‘Mother, we have to buy. The Warren Motel has gone through bankruptcy.’ In the middle of August, we went to the bank, bought the hotel, cleaned and refurbished it and moved in right after Labor Day.”
Purchased for $175,000 on August 12, 1968, the building was the only piece of the downtown campus that was actually owned by the college. Renamed “Merrimack Hall,” the building housed 250 students. It also housed the College’s first full scale dining facility which employed three full time and thirty part time employees. Returning male students found that the Merrimack Hall facility was an improvement over their previous housing.
Franklin Hall, a building associated with the defunct Franklin Street Congregational Church and sometimes called “the old Mary Manning property,” was leased in February of 1969. The building could house 85 students and was used as the female residence hall. The chapel could be used for assemblies, and other parts of the building could be used for classroom space, including the housing of the college’s NCR Century 100 computer.The female students, however, questioned why they were placed in the smaller, less feature-rich Franklin Hall. A committee of female students was formed to meet with Ann Shapiro and discuss what they saw as the inadequacy of the arrangement. Most of the student complaints were resolved, with the exception of the desire for bathtubs to be installed in the dorm. There was no desire on the part of the administration to devote funds to that level of improvement to Franklin Hall with a new campus in development.
As the school grew in size and academic offerings, the downtown storefront location, which was so typical of private business schools, started to be at odds with the institution’s standing as a college. James Grace described his attempt to be on time for his 1970 interview with the college as follows:
“I drove up and down Hanover Street looking for this College. I finally said, 'Well, this is ridiculous; it has to be somewhere down here, because its 88 Hanover and it can't be up at the other end.' It never occurred to me that the College was a downtown College. All I had was an address and I didn't know a thing about Manchester. So I parked the car approximately where Garber's or Jim's Oxford Shop is now and I remember so vividly I thought well I should start walking around. It must be here somewhere. I was getting concerned because I was just about at the time of the appointment for my interview, or shortly afterward. I started to ask people. I think the second person I asked said, 'You're right in front of it.' They pointed across the street to the sign - 88 Hanover Street. New Hampshire College. I couldn't believe it!”