South Loop's Columbia College in the Age of Telstar
Central Chicago
With the first television pictures and phone calls transmitted through space with the Telstar communication satellite in the early 1960s, Columbia College was equipped to prepare students for a new age of media and communication.
Founders Mary A. Blood and Ida Morey Riley named their college after the upcoming World’s Columbia Exposition when they opened Columbia School of Oratory in 1890. The school would teach public speaking skills to women and men. The institution continued this focus on self-expression as it evolved throughout the years to include pursuing the arts and careers in media. A promotional poster distributed in 1963 expresses Columbia College’s confidence that its focus on creativity and social responsibility would help its students succeed as technology transformed the world.
Along with its unique focus, Columbia College’s location in the South Loop neighborhood provides it a nontraditional urban campus. Instead of separating the college from the community, its buildings blend into the neighborhood and encourage unity with the city.
