I am now "studying" the DePaul University campus in Chicago via Google Maps. As noted, and regarding Big East campuses, I am geographically moving from east to west. We've touched on the Providence, Connecticut, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, Xavier and Butler campuses. Now we look at DU.

First, and for context (I've posted before but for those who did not know):

When I moved to Chicago from Nashville in 1987, I “adopted” DePaul as my new college "home team." I lived about 1.5 miles from the campus and attended both some non-sports and athletics events there, including a few exhibition and intra-squad games in the now-gone Alumni Hall. I watched lots of Blue Demon games on WGN back in the day, often drinking cold Old Style beer while cheering DU. I wanted to attend DePaul for graduate school but did not have the grades. Instead, I attended Roosevelt U. and worked at Robert Morris College (which earlier this year was absorbed by Roosevelt). Since Roosevelt is loosely affiliated with DePaul via both the 18-story University Center of Chicago and some joint degree programs, the Blue Demons remain my “Chicago college team” (and pair nicely with the Cubs, for which I’ve cheered since the late 1960s). Relatedly, I wrote some DePaul basketball articles (I interviewed Joey Meyer a few times) for Athlon Sports when I loosely covered (along with Cincinnati, Memphis and Marquette) the Great Midwest Conference and C-USA in the 1990s. I have since done some online coursework and financially supported (modestly, admittedly) DePaul. I respect and appreciate the work of Catholic universities, grade schools, hospitals and charitable organizations — and DePaul represents the best of that.

Now to the DePaul main campus…

… it’s tiny. A mere 36 acres. As such, there is is very little wasted space (for example, surface parking) or open green space. Also, and on this theme, there is no “grand entrance” to the campus.

Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, located on the south end of the campus at Sheffield and Webster, is a strong and handsome example of Western religious architecture.

University Hall (located, to an extent, in the center of the campus) is a very attractive structure.

Interestingly, the Red, Brown and Purple elevated train lines slice (north-south) through the east segment of the campus. The Red Line was the Howard Line during my time in Chicago.

A few interesting notes from Wiki:

* Approximately 2,400 students live on campus in 12 residence halls.

* The DePaul Art Museum, founded in 2011 and open to the public at no admission fee, is housed in a 15,000-square-foot building and features a collection of over 3,000 objects. The building straddles the elevated line.

* The Sullivan Center, originally named the DePaul Athletic Center, opened in 2000 and was renamed in 2006. It replaced Alumni Hall (I loved that old gem). The DePaul Blue Demons athletic department is housed in the Sullivan Center.

DePaul also offers a “vertical campus” located within Chicago’s famed Loop.

DU is a wonderful school and I feel humbled to have least had a small connection to it for more than 30 years.