Busse Library Digital Archive

- bussex2
- The exterior of Busse Center, housing the campus library, campus ministries, and the college chapel.
- Originally conceived in the fall of 1988, the goal of a new library anchored the college's "Vision for Tomorrow" capital campaign, an initial, $10 million dollar effort. By June 1990, with the financial goal met, the college accepted a proposal...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- sisgrotto
- The Sisters of Mercy in the grotto, 1950s.
- A 1950s gathering of the Sisters of Mercy at the Shrine of Our Mother of Sorrows, the Mount Mercy grotto.
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- green1960
- An image of the Greene Mansion, 1960.
- The Greene Mansion, used as the convent for the Sisters of Mercy, required over a million dollars of renovation, to preserve its structure, by 1964. With the city of Cedar Rapids unwilling to fund the needed repairs and the Sisters unable to fund...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- burke
- Sister Mary Cornelia Burke.
- Sister Mary Cornelia Burke was elected, by the Sisters of Mercy, as the second president for Mount Mercy Junior College, serving from 1933-1939. She added the position of chaplain to the campus roster, renovated the first floor of Warde Hall to...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- mcauley2
- Side view of McAuley Hall, the first campus dormitory.
- In March, 1955, the Sisters of Mercy began work on a new, college dormitory; the cornerstone laying ceremony followed on October 3 of that year. In September 1956, McAuley Hall welcomed college students into its seven-story structure; the first...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- sacheart
- The Greene Mansion and Sacred Heart Academy.
- An image featuring the original Greene Mansion (home of Sacred Heart Convent and the Sisters of Mercy in Cedar Rapids) and Sacred Heart Academy.
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- 1876gr
- 1876 Sketch of the Greene Mansion and Mound Farm.
- Judge George Greene, member of the Iowa Supreme Court and president of several, Cedar Rapids organizations, purchased 900 acres in Linn County, Iowa and named the property "Mound Farm." He died in 1880, and his wife leased part of the property,...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- warder2
- A view of Warde Hall from the campus vantage-point.
- Warde Hall, the original, Mount Mercy building, well known for its architecture and the prominent, illuminated cross, reflects the longtime vision of the Sisters of Mercy -- a belief in faith, in change for the good of all, and a commitment to the...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- grded
- The Dedication of the Shrine of Our Mother of Sorrows, the Mount Mercy Grotto.
- William H. Lightner, the contractor who built Mount Mercy Academy (Warde Hall), received permission to create an elaborate grotto on the Sisters of Mercy's land. By 1930, the grotto's theme focused on the Virgin Mary under the title, "The Mother...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- vmary3
- Marble statue of the Mother of Sorrows, Mount Mercy grotto.
- A Carrara marble statue of the Mother of Sorrows (Virgin Mary), sculpted by the Italian artist Marcello Rebechini, was bought by the Sisters of Mercy and added to the grotto site in May, 1951. In its original state, the statue represented the...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- donnelly2
- An aerial view of Donnelly Center.
- By 1970, the Sisters of Mercy knew that fifth floor, Warde Hall could no longer provide adequate space for the a new major in nursing. Funds were secured by a federal construction grant, and construction was underway for a nursing education...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- install
- Installation of Sister Mary Agnes Hennessey as Mount Mercy College president, 1961.
- Sister Mary Agnes Hennessey is installed as the third president of Mount Mercy College in 1961. At the podium is Sister Mary Lawrence Hallagan, Major Superior of the Sisters of Mercy.
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- marron
- Sister Mary Maura Marron.
- Sister Mary Maura Marron served as the third president of Mount Mercy Junior College, with her term of office from 1939-1946. Marron led efforts to establish the Sisters of Mercy's first, formal novitiate and served in numerous nursing...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- Feldinaug
- The inauguration of Dr. Thomas Feld as Mount Mercy College president.
- In December 1977, newly-installed president Thomas R. Feld is congratulated by Board of Trustees chairman, Thomas J. Donovan, and Major Superior of the Cedar Rapids Sisters of Mercy, Sister Mary Cephas Wichman.
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- jfk
- John F. Kennedy visits Mount Mercy Junior College campus in 1959.
- Senator John F. Kennedy visited the Mount Mercy Junior College campus in 1959, following a campaign stop in Marion, Iowa. Kennedy spoke from the McAuley veranda to an audience of Sisters, students, and visitors. Following the speech, Sister Mary...
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- 40sdorm
- 1940 dormitory room in Warde Hall, Mount Mercy Junior College.
- A pair of roommates sharing time in their 1940s room in Warde Hall, Mount Mercy Junior College. The building housed rooms for students, the Sisters of Mercy, a laundry room, bathrooms, classrooms, and offices.
- Mount Mercy Photographs
- regina2
- Regina Hall, the college's second dormitory.
- By the spring of 1964, there was an immediate need for additional, student housing. A campus master plan was constructed, and following the Sisters of Mercy moving to their new convent in March of that year, crews demolished the Greene Mansion,...
- Mount Mercy Photographs