Fitz Hall — where most students pick up packages or attend music, art, education or biomedical engineering courses — has more than half a million square feet of space. Formerly an NCR factory, it has an entire floor off limits to UD students because it’s an early-college high school. It has its own made-to-order sandwich shop — the Brown Street Bistro — and the entire Public Safety department. It even has a cadaver lab.
Fourth Floor: Music and More
If you’ve ever been to the fourth floor of Fitz Hall, you’ll know that the Department of Music is headquartered there. You’ll also be familiar with the fact that it has the “Blue Concourse,” a variety of classrooms for ensembles and theater classes, and dozens of practice rooms alongside offices for faculty.
What you may not know is that there is a collection of rooms in the center of the fourth floor that’s off the beaten track for students looking to practice their music or trying to tell the music department that the code they’ve been given for their instrument locker isn’t working, despite the fact that this is the third code they’ve been given for said locker, and yes, I’m sure I know how to input the code on the lock.
I digress. Those rooms in the center of the fourth floor are accessible only to those affiliated with the University Libraries.
Backstage Pass
Luckily for you, dear reader, and evidently enough from the fact that this blog is part of the University Libraries, I am affiliated with the Libraries as a student employee for University Archives. I’ve seen the insides of those hidden rooms, and one of them is very interesting indeed.
In a scene somewhat reminiscent of a Christmas movie’s depiction of Santa Claus’ workshop, you would not be remiss in thinking that the only thing Fitz Hall is lacking in is a legion of elves merrily working away. When I made my first visit to the Marian Library Crèche Collection room and workshop — the very interesting room I’m writing about here — it was still and quiet, but evidence of the staff’s diligent work remained. Colorful crèches — another term for Nativities — sat in long rows of covered display cases. Every crèche echoed the same story, but each had its own spin.
Hosts of Holy Families
From the Americas to Europe, Asia and Oceania, rows upon rows of crèches sit enclosed in plexiglass and cloaked in colorful cloth covers. Pull aside the multicolored fabric and you’ll see the first days of Christ’s life unfold in caves, barns, ruins, tropical jungles and snowy fields. They all contain familiar characters — the Magi, Mary and Joseph, the animals and of course Jesus Christ — but the scenes and attire vary to reflect the cultural identities and artistic whims of the creators. In one Nativity scene, porcelain figures with featureless faces form a procession to the manger. In another, wood-carved people celebrate the birth of Christ with painted expressions of joy.
According to the first volume of the Crèche Herald — a publication dedicated to Nativities — the Marian Library began its collection of Nativities in 1994. That issue, published in spring 1997, proclaimed that the University of Dayton had about 400 crèches. Now, the Marian Library has over 3,600 of them.
Now on Display
As we move into the holiday season, you can see some of these Nativities yourself at Roesch Library in the exhibit Seeking Shelter: Beyond the Stable, open through Jan. 16.
— Ava Merriman is a senior English major and student employee in the University Archives.
