Steve Teicher remembers...
I lived in Baker from 62-65.
My first room was 204.5. Where is this you say? Well in the early 1960's MIT ran out of housing space. Rush Week was day 1. Those who did not win the dorm room lottery or succeed in getting adopted by a frat were put in places that encouraged migration.
The original 4 occupants of what was intended to be a local lounge included:
Ned Notzen
Steve Teicher
Klaus Pichler
Linwood Robinson
Klaus was from Venezuela. His desk was sticky with elixir mixers. Klaus eventually went away.
He was replaced by Stu Spitzer who is from Revere.
204.5 was unique among rooms in Baker in that it had more occupants than any other room and no sink.
We lived in a nice area of Baker. One of the fellows across the hall had very powerful amps and big speakers. One day I was in the bathroom and as best I could tell from the noise a 707 flew down the hall and out a window.
One of the features of Baker was that the floors were water tight, so the night before the first freshman quiz the upper class people flooded the place. Another nice thing about Baker is that it had the long straight staircase up the side. Until someone told the crew about underarm spray the staircase smelled like an armpit from the crew running up and down the stairs.
The 60's were the days of separation of the sexes. One of the biggest jobs of Judcom was to penalize the students who had female visitors for more than the allotted time.
Baker House left me with fine memories.
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Random Pictures
Some good times on 2nd floor
I was one who lived freshman year '62-63 in the 204.5 quad with Steve, Ned, and Klaus.
I recall Klaus' name to be Claus Emmer-Szerbesko. (Claus Dietrich Michael Emmer-Szerbesko, actually) who is now listed in the alumni books as Claus Emmer '67.
204.5 was a bit drafty as I recall, with winter breezes sneaking through the windows. It was intended to be a lounge area, so was not as 'built-in' as other rooms. But the good side was that due to the wide spot in the hall in front of 204.5, it was in the thick of the 2nd floor parties. I bartended a few including a pajama party. And maybe a separate Polynesian party, although that may have just been the drinks I mixed for the pajama party - I'm a little hazy on the details, since I spent hours before the party trying out all the concoctions before serving them. There are a few notable details I do remember, but I'd best to keep them to myself. What happens on 2nd floor stays on 2nd floor, and all that.
And yes, Al the porter cleaned the rooms and made the beds daily for all of us on the 2nd floor in the years I was in Baker. Quite spoiled us, but we adapted. Don't forget the sandwich guy who rolled a cart through the halls in the evening (once a week I think), dishing out my favorite meatball sandwich. And the pizza truck that parked outside with pizza coming out of the ovens while we waited on those cold winter nights.
Although the piano drop happened after we graduated, we did have the infamous plastic cleaning bag drop. You know, the bags the dry cleaner puts over the clothes when you pick them up. Filled with water, tied off, and dropped from the top floor, they make a spectacular blast when they hit the street behind Baker. Or in the infamous event, specatular when one hits and destroys the windhield of a passing car (owned by a 2nd floor Bakerite,as it turns out)
Many fond memories of those years, with many of us 2nd floor survivors keeping in touch ever since.