People watch as workers remove a willow tree, clearing the land for the construction of the Pharmacy Building

Description:	Workers remove a willow tree in order to clear the land for the construction of the Pharmacy Building. Several people stand nearby watching their progress and portions of Robertson Hall are visible in the background beyond the other trees. In 1945, Butler University merged with the Indianapolis College of Pharmacy, forming the Butler University College of Pharmacy, but classes continued to be offered in the former organizations building at 800 East Market Street in Indianapolis. The College of Pharmacy Finance Committee was formed to raise money for a new building on the Universitys campus and by October 1949, more than $600,000 of the estimated $700,000 needed to construct the building had been raised from 619 individual and corporate donors. The remaining assets from the former Indianapolis College of Pharmacy were also used to pay for the construction. In order to clear the chosen building site, a popular willow tree needed to be removed. Many people, including students and area residents, were unhappy with decision. Originally, the tree was a part of Fairview Park, a popular trolley park opened by the Citizens Street Railway Company in 1890 and operated until the early 1920s. The company merged with the Indianapolis Traction and Terminal Company in 1911, forming the Indianapolis Street Railway Company, and the University relocated to the area in 1928. The October 20, 1949, issue of The Butler Collegian featured a front page article about the history of the tree as well as a poem titled Willow Weep No More that appears to have been based on Edgar Allan Poes The Raven (p. 1). Willow Weep No MoreTwas upon a Wednesday dreary, Students eyes were red and bleary, Too much benzedrine and No-doz, Loss of sleep had had its toll. What a gruesome sight to greet them, Horror of all horrors meet them, Where once stood the stately willow, Now is but a yawning hole. Where has gone the weeping willow? Limbs that blow and leaves that billow, Tall and priestly weeping willow, Shot for pills and thiazole. Gone as Butler U. progresses, Gone with green and flowing tresses, Now a martyr to all nature, Only this and nothing more.
Origin:	1949-10
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/2625
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.839827, -86.171688 39.839827 -86.171688
Subjects:	Construction workers Construction projects Willows Weeping willow Trees Trucks Butler University--Buildings College buildings Butler University--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History People Pharmacy Building Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building Robertson Hall Religion Building Fairview campus

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