Nov. 18
November 18, 2008
Catherine "Cat" Jacobs
November 20, 2008
The once proud structure that has served as Thibodaux’s tallest building since the late 1960s is coming down Saturday, and one lucky person will contribute to its fall.
Nicholls State University’s Huey P. Long Hall will be demolished at 11 a.m., two hours before the Colonels close out their 2008 football season against the Southeastern Lions. Lloyd D. Nebors, a Hutchins, Texas-based firm, has been hired for the demolition, dubbed “Bringing Down the House.”
Saturday’s razing, however, will be no ordinary implosion. Raffle tickets are on sale for $10 to determine who will press the button that sets off the explosive charge.
All proceeds from the raffle will be used to create a new Huey P. Long Hall Endowed Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a student living in on-campus housing, school officials said.
“An event of this magnitude in the history of Nicholls really deserves to be commemorated, and what better way to do that than to endow a new scholarship fund with the proceeds of this raffle,” said Mike Davis, assistant vice president for administration.
“We invite the public to join us in this effort to improve the Nicholls campus environment in two significant ways, physically and intellectually,” he added.
Long Hall is the last of four obsolete residence halls on Nicholls’ campus to be demolished.
Meade, Millet and Zerginue halls are in various stages of being torn down, according to campus officials.
Three on-campus facilities have been erected in recent years to replace the outdated living quarters. Scholars Hall, Hall B and Hall C sport private and semi-private suites.
“The four outdated buildings have been replaced with top-of-the-line student housing facilities that offer 21st century amenities and services to our students,” Davis said. “While we are a bit wistful at seeing these older facilities disappear, we are overjoyed about the prospects for our current and future students to experience one of the very best on-campus living environments available.”
Raffle tickets will be available until shortly before the implosion.
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Nicholls’ Office of Alumni Affairs at (985) 448-4111, the Department of Athletics at (985) 448-4792, the Office of Development at (985) 448-4009 and the Office of Institutional Advancement at (985) 448-4005.
Nicholls State’s Huey P. Long Hall has served as Thibodaux’s tallest building since it was built in the late 1960s. It will come down Saturday. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
