Coffee House in the Forum, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa 1965.
In the spring of 1965 there was a new student center on the
campus of Grinnell College--the Forum, a modern steel and glass structure
designed by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Among its features was a
coffee shop built around a shiny Italian espresso machine—something that felt
very modern and sophisticated in the middle of Iowa. On weekends, poetry
readings and stand-up performances were held in the coffee house.
Espresso Machine, etching by Caroline Scheaffer Arnold, 1965
I was an art student at Grinnell and made an etching of the
coffee shop for one of my classes. My friends Dottie and Dick Metzler have had
a copy of that print ever since we were fellow students at Grinnell. None of us
can remember whether they bought the print at the annual student art sale or if
I gave it to them as a wedding present. In any case, they have recently donated it to
the college as both a piece of art and a record of college history. When they
first proposed to donate the print several years ago, they contacted me. Here’s
what I wrote back:
Your picture of my print
of the espresso machine in the old Forum coffee house brought back memories. I
would be pleased to have you offer the print to Grinnell. The print is an
etching that I made in a prints class taught by Richard Cervene. I do have a
confession to make. The name of the espresso machine is not Campanelli. I made
the sketch for the print in the coffee house (the setting and various objects
are correct) but I didn't put the name of the machine in my sketch. Back in the
art building later, when I was transferring my drawing to the etching
plate I added the name but misremembered it. (I should have gone back to
check.) So, as far as historical interest is concerned, everything is accurate
except the name of the machine!
The plan is for my espresso machine etching to be hung
in the new Alumni House in a room honoring Dottie Metzler, who passed away in
2020.
The espresso machine in one of its later locations.
Note: The coffee shop in the Forum is long gone and
the building is no longer a student center. (It is used for offices.) But the espresso machine lived on for many
more years at other campus locations. And it will be remembered forever in photos
and in my etching.
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