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A GREATER GETTYSBURG Only a few weeks before the new library was first occupied, the stock market crash of October 1929 occurred. Within a matter of months it became evident that the country was entering a period of severe economic depression. Most plans for further building and renovating activity had to be set aside. Normal maintenance was reduced to a minimum. Between the fall of 1929 and 1945 one old College building got a second portico, a bookstore was built, and the old gymnasium disappeared from the campus. Adding a north portico to Old Dorm was a project which architect Baum had envisaged in his 1914 campus plan, long before either Weidensall, Breidenbaugh, or Plank was built. As the area north of the old building was developed, interest in a major entrance to what had long been considered its back side increased. "This building is the key of the campus," the president told the trustees in June 1928, "and it is my thought that from whatever entrance one may enter the campus, the most conspicuous feature will be the beautiful old building around which the affections of the thousands of our alumni will always be centered." He hoped that a north portico could be built in time for the College centennial celebration in 1932. However, it was not until 1937 - the centennial of the first occupancy of the old building - that his hope was finally realized. Work was begun in the spring and the new portico was dedicated on June 5, 1937, with Professor Emeritus Milton H. Valentine giving the address. The portico was named in memory of Charles W. Beachem, the first alumni secretary, who died after a brief illness in the preceding January. The cost of the improvement, including necessary changes to the interior of the building, was about $12,300; it was met by contributions of the Alumni Association. During the summer of 1939 the College built a bookstore on the recently acquired southeastern corner of Washington and Stevens streets. The contract price was $5,300. When the new facility opened for business in the fall, the College converted the space in Old Dorm which had long been used for selling books into dormitory rooms. For many years students had operated the bookstore, providing a service for their colleagues while earning part of their College expenses. Arguing that the responsibility had become too great for students to handle, the College took over the facility in July 1938.166 The desire to convert the abandoned gymnasiun into an administrative center, which persisted long after Glatfelter Hall was reoc- cupied in the fall of 1929, was never realized. Even as town children used it for various purposes, the condition of the building continued to deteriorate. After a spirited student campaign to secure its 166The student-run bookstore appeared shortly after 1900. At times Old Dorm also housed a lunch room and barber shop. 52