In the 1950s, as interstate highways fueled Americans’ passion for auto travel, a group of oil executives kicked back in an art deco-style top floor lounge in Standard Oil’s towering building in what is now Calumet College of St. Joseph’s main campus.
Anchored by a U-shaped bar and accented with gold shag carpet on its front, executives puffed on cigars while gazing out at the refinery as it processed crude oil into gasoline for all those automobiles.
“You had to have a special key to get up there, they wanted to keep it private,” said Brian Lowry, Calumet College director of communications and public relations. No elevator went to the seventh floor and executives had walk up a flight of stairs.
Since Standard Oil donated the building — used for research and development — to Calumet College in 1973, the executives’ lounge has sat abandoned and frozen in time.
Its bar is devoid of liquor now, a black and white console television sits against a wall near a kitchenette with white metal enamel cabinets. Lowry said a janitor occasionally gets whiffs of lingering cigar smoke from days gone by.
Today, the grand views remain.
The video player is currently playing an ad.
“It unleashes the interplay of man and industry,” Lowry said of the views.
And soon, the former exclusive lounge will gain new life as it’s repurposed into a community gathering space with part of a $15 million Lilly Endowment grant.
Calumet College, a private Roman Catholic school, was one of 13 Indiana higher education institutions to receive grants announced last week through the College and Community Collaboration, a competitive Lilly Endowment initiative.
Lowry said the idea for the lounge came from Calumet College President Amy McCormack.
She envisioned it as a showcase for events given its sweeping panoramic views of Chicago’s skyline, Lake Michigan and the residential and industrial landscape.
Guests will be able to get a birds eye view of the Horseshoe Casino, which sits in front of the Chicago skyline.
“This was her vision from the beginning. She has worked hard to make this open to the public,” said Lowry.
Lowry said the lounge will celebrate its heritage with signs detailing the oil company’s past, and Standard Oil’s early leaders, including founder John D. Rockefeller. BP owns the refinery today.
“Certainly, those Gilded Age characters helped build this community,” he said.
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Co. established the Whiting refinery in 1889, because of its proximity to Chicago. By the mid-1890s, the Whiting plant had become the largest refinery in the U.S. Back then, the oil was used for kerosene to light lamps. By the early 1920s, its emphasis shifted to turning the crude into gasoline.
Visitors might be amazed to learn legendary Chicago architects Holabird & Root, who designed the building, oriented the lounge with windows facing the refinery. A brick wall obscures views of the lake and Chicago.
There is a walkway around the lounge where visitors will be able to glimpse the views, while dining or snacking on the patio, that’s expected to be open for catered events. The patio features glass “portholes” in its cement ceiling.
Lowry said building codes will require the walkway’s railing to be upgraded for safety and a sprinkler system and other mechanical improvements will be added to the lounge.
He said the college is looking for a sponsor to assist in showcasing the history of how the refinery helped fuel the modern world.
Lowry said the college also plans to establish a public fitness park with the city of Hammond, and local residents, to turn a vacant industrial lot into usable green space for the college’s outdoor sports teams and community summer camps.
Funding will also extend Hammond’s George Lake Bike Trail through the campus and nearly complete a loop around the lake’s northern basin.
The college will also use its grant money to assist Whiting schools to upgrade the turf on its high school football field, also used by the college.
Funding is earmarked for upgraded turf at Whiting’s Oil City Stadium, where the college’s baseball team also plays.
Before settling on the improvements, Lowry said the college met with elected leaders and community stakeholders to gather feedback.
“This support allows us to further our mission in ways that reach beyond our campus and positively impact others, while also strengthening our institution,” McCormack said in a statement.
“CCSJ has served our community for many years and our community has supported the college, and now we get to play a big part in giving back through this historic gift…” said McCormack.
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