Point Park College
Point Park
College
Point
Park
College
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Point Park College is located in the midst of downtown Pittsburgh, just a few blocks from
Point State Park. The very urban campus occupies only a few blocks and takes up most space
vertically.
One of the campus's main building is the twenty-one level Lawrence Hall. Here are dance
studios, classrooms, administrative offices, and dormitories.
In a tenth floor dormitory, it is said that an exhausted student, perhaps tired from studying
for finals, fell asleep with a lit cigarette in her hand.
The ashes sparked a fire that raged through the room. She died, supposedly from smoke
inhalation. The walls were black with soot and the smell of death.
The room was cleaned and repainted, trying to hide from any new residents the tragic history
of the room. A few weeks later, a new student moved in.
It wasn't long before the walls suddenly turned charred again, the way they looked when the
unfortunate student was found lifeless. Every year the walls are repainted, but the soot
returns. The room is no longer used.
an urban campus
lawrence hall
a student sleeps forever
a tenth floor tragedy
forgetting the tragedy
charred reminders
