Railroad Stop To Snickers And Pop--The Hub


It was completed in 1892 as the campus terminal for the 
"Dinkey," a railroad steam line that connected town with 
gown. When an electric trolley replaced the Dinkey in 1907, 
a new trolley terminal was built and the Dinkey station was 
moved northeast about 50 feet to make room for Marston Hall.

The walls of the old station were extended to the edge of the 
roof and an Ames post office substation became the first 
tenant. In 1920, the college bookstore also moved into the 
"Post Office Building" and a north wing was added for 
storage.

On sunny days during the next decade or so, the all-male 
"Sunshine Club" congregated on the front steps of the post 
office. Its function? Coed watching.

In 1958, the bookstore moved to the Memorial Union and a 
snack bar arrived in the small building. It was dubbed "The 
Hub" and the name stuck. The post office departed for its new 
Campustown building in 1963. A ticket office and later, a 
copy center and the university traffic office moved to The 
Hub.

The Hub underwent a major renovation in the mid-1980s, 
including the addition of an outdoor plaza, courtesy of the 
Class of '82. Since then, the Hub has been a "vendo-land" 
haven for students and staff and home to a campus copy 
center.

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contact:  Anne Dolan, University Relations, (515) 294-7065
updated:  9-28-95