Don’t let those clunky old-school calculators fool you. The Wharton students seen in this 1960 photograph are clicking away in what was considered, at the time, to be one of the finest and most advanced academic buildings in the country. Dietrich Hall was among the first buildings completed at Penn after World War II, and the University spared no expense on its design, bringing in hallowed New York design firm McKim, Mead and White—the team behind such iconic buildings as Penn Station in New York, the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn—to lead the project. The building was completed in 1950. In 1981, it was renovated to include Steinberg Hall. Today the combined “Steiny-D” continues to serve as one of Wharton’s main academic buildings, hosting classrooms, the Dean’s Office and several academic departments. —T.H.
[Editor’s Note: No, the machines pictured here are not typewriters, as we had originally stated, but rather “electro-mechanical calculators.” Thanks to the many readers who corrected us on this.]