Welcome to Diggity Dogg Hall!

255 South 36th Street

 

 

University of Pretzelvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104

This page was created to keep you informed of all the improvements to Diggity Dogg Hall while renovations and improvements to the so-called Perelman Quadrangle are going on. These renovations and improvements will have profound consequences for Diggity Dogg Hall, so we want to keep you informed of all developments as they occur.

 

	Renaming of Williams Hall
	On December 1, 1998, Williams Hall was officially renamed Diggity Dogg Hall. The reasons for this change have to do with the difficulty of locating the Spruce Street entrance to the former Williams Hall, then almost completely blocked by the Diggity Dogg hotdog stand. With its bright new color scheme (mustard-yellow and black), the Diggity Dogg stand had quickly become a landmark on Spruce Street in the short time it had been stationed there, and it was felt that its recognizability could be profited from. The public has already begun to refer to the Spruce Street entrance to the former Williams Hall as the "Diggity-Dogg" entrance, so this change merely officialized what has become practice. The fact that the Diggity Dogg stand then moved to another location has not resulted in a further name change, since this would require the action of a different committee. (Since the building is dogged with many problems, the name seems to many still very apt.)
	Unsubstantiated Rumors Unfortunately for all concerned, and particularly for Penn's reputation, a vicious rumor has been circulating, according to which the placement of the Diggity-Dogg hotdog stand has something to do with political payoffs to a well-placed City Council member (rumored to be a relative of the owner of the Diggity-Dog stand) who in the meantime has become Mayor of Philadelphia. These scurrilous rumors should be squelched; please report any instances of rumor-mongering to squelch@rumormonger.upenn.edu or to the office of Mr. Fry (fry@pobox). The communications process during the Perelman renovations has been an excellent one so far, and we should not allow rumors and innuendo to mar the process. Color Scheme The design commission for the Perelman Quadrangle has also decided to adopt the mustard-yellow and black color scheme to other buildings in the area, but beginning primarily with the former Williams Hall. Look for bright new corridors and stairwells painted in this color scheme! The change will take place during the holiday breaks. Even-numbered floors will be painted black with yellow trim, while odd-numbered floors will be yellow with black trim. Costs of Name Change We regret to inform you that any costs associated with this name change that impact departments and occupants of Diggity Dogg Hall (DDH, same campus code 6305) must be borne by the occupants; if existing stocks of stationery etc. are not exhausted, they can be recyled by printing over the WMS address. The design commission will supply a rubber stamp that can print the words Diggity Dogg Hall Box 6305 (in delicious mustard yellow and black!) over the old WMS address, at a low cost of $1.95 per stamp. Or, you can purchase them directly from the Diggity-Dogg stand itself.
	Other Improvements
	Removal of Plumbing and Hydraulic Services Some occupants may have noticed that the toilets on some of the floors have become non-functional, and do not flush. This is part of a plan to gradually discontinue plumbing facilities in DDH, beginning immediately. Toilet facilities will be shut down progressively, starting on the 8th floor, and all plumbing should be non-functional, and non-accessible, by the first of January, 1999. (Most of these toilets were not flushing anyway, due to low water pressure and failure of the "automatic" flushing devices.) Occupants of the building are asked to take care of their bodily functions either at home (before or after work), or if this cannot be accomplished, to use facilities in Logan Hall. (Occupants are requested not to try to use facilities in the Hospital, Wistar Institute, or to impact in any way the facilities of various Wharton buildings.) To help with this transition, porta-potties (gaily decorated with the new diggity-dogg color scheme!) will be placed along Spruce Street, but only until May, 1999. After that occupants will be expected to fend for themselves. Elevator Service Changes are also in the offing for elevator service in DDH. Occupants will have noticed that often one or more elevators is non-functional, sometimes for days on end. This has also been part of a test to see whether DDH can function without elevator service at all, and results seem to indicate that elevators can now simply be removed from the building, rather than updated and modernized, as formerly promised. Occupants with ADA problems may address themselves to the email hotline below rodent@diggitydog.upenn.edu . The timetable for discontinuing elevator service has yet to be determined, but will probably be in effect by Spring semester, 1999. For the convenience of residents on higher floors, a fire pole will be installed in one of the elevator shafts to facilitate egress. During fire or other emergency, the use of elevators is of course already discouraged. Since some occupants of the building have been confused by the long waits between arrivals of elevators, a schedule has been devised that should make computation of service easier to figure out. Of Ants and Mice: Occupants will have noticed that rodents and vermin formerly occupying the lower floors of the former WMS hall have been relocated to higher floors, due to the renovations on WMS carried out in the summer of 1998. These creatures are undergoing severe deprivation of their usual stocks of food and sustenance, so we ask you not to call exterminators unless the rodents begin to chew on computer circuitry. We expect that once students begin consuming food in the lower classrooms again, rodents and ants will be allowed to return to those levels, and this temporary problem will be solved. For further information, contact rodent@diggitydog.
	Updates: Hot-breaking News about Perelman Quadrangle Renovations!
	Removal of Plumbing and Hydraulic Services
	As mentioned in our earlier posting, we had hoped to discontinue plumbing and hydraulic services in all floors of the building by January 1st, and this was then changed to spring semester break, but the perspicacious observer will have noted that this has not been possible to date. We did have some success in shutting down service to all floors for at least one day, and to floors 5 to 8 for another day, but then service inexplicably resumed. Since some toilets, at least on the lower floors, now seem to be working, the need for the portapotties that we had promised for the north side of Spruce Street is not that great. They will be installed when plumbing has completely been shut down, hopefully over semester break.
	Elevator Service Update
	We also regret the delay in removing elevator service from DDH. This was making great progress, as witnessed by last week's successful shutdown of two out of the three elevators, but then, like the plumbing, elevator service reasserted itself despite our best efforts. We regret we were not able to control this anomalous development but please be assured we are working on this. Part of our problem has been that we have been unable to locate a supplier for brass firepoles. The last supplier to produce them was in one of the former Soviet republics, but they have also shut down their production, and have gone over to making elevator equipment. We are looking for another supplier, possibly in North Korea.
	Other developments.
	In the previous postings we failed to make clear what the restroom space would be used for after the removal of plumbing and hydraulic services. An anonymous donor has given a generous grant for the installation of video arcades in all the former restrooms! This will add immensely to the academic atmosphere in Williams, we are convinced, especially since the games on each floor will be keyed to the language programs housed on that floor. Thus the games on the 8th floor will be in Hindi, Korean, Japanese and Chinese ; on the seventh floor in German, Hebrew, and Russian, on the fifth for French, Italian and Spanish, and so on. Meanwhile, we are hoping to find a supplier for video games in other, less commonly-taught languages, but this will take time. If you note any languages that have been left out here, or if you know of suppliers and/or developers who program in other languages, please let us know at rodent@diggetydog.upenn.edu.
	Pigeon Alert
	A serious condition exists with regard to the pigeon population in and around Diggity-Dog Hall, and I must take this opportunity to remind you of certain rules and safety tips. With the return (however brief) of warm weather the other day, some occupants of DDH relaxed their guard and opened their windows a bit to get some air (some people did not have this option because their windows don't open). Pigeons seized the opportunity to gain unauthorized entrance to the building and did access some offices, and made, shall we say, messes on people's books and papers. We regret these incidents and wish to assure the occupants of the building that we are doing our utmost to control this problem. As you are well aware, however, the pigeons have been disturbed in their normal nesting and feeding habits during the Perelman Quadrangle construction, and can not always remember what the rules are. When airconditioning is restored to the building (in the year 2006), it will not be necessary to open the windows in order to get air to breathe, so please be patient. We are also trying to locate a supplier for the "Bird-Off" (razor-wire) bird repellent system that has worked well in other locations. These are those spikey metal strips that can be installed on window sills, on gutters, and on rooftops to repel birds. (Of course they often repel them right into our offices, so we must be vigilant!) Our last supplier was in Uzbekistan, but they have discontinued the manufacture of this item. When the Perelman Quadrangle renovations are complete, we expect to have pigeon repellent or repelling systems in all strategic locations. In the meantime, please do not open windows more than an inch at a time.
	Fire and Emergency Egress
	As we witnessed some time ago, procedures for evacuating DDH during a fire or other emergency are not clear to all, so here is what Diggity Dogg Hall occupants need to know about emergency evacuation procedures. As we saw earlier, the west fire exit stair that exits onto 36th street was blocked by workers when some of us tried to use it. If this should happen again, please do not disturb the worker and attempt to use the exit. You should reenter the burning building, proceed to the top floor (the "penthouse" floor, as it is known) and wait for further instructions. (As we all know, elevators should not be used during fires or other emergencies, and in a few months, this will be a moot point, anyway, once elevator service has been completely discontinued.) Instructions for egressing the building from the Penthouse Floor. Since fire exit stairs are sometimes blocked, we are instituting a new system for evacuation. Trampolines will be installed along the sidewalk of Spruce Street (interspersed with the portapotties that will be installed there once plumbing has been completely removed), and bungies (with bungie harnesses) will be provided. Attach the bungie harness securely and jump. When the bungie stops bouncing, disconnect the harness and fall onto the trampoline. Immediately egress the trampoline, so as to allow the next person to fall. (Or if you feel adventurous, jump without benefit of bungies, but aim carefully so as not to hit the portapotties.) In this way, workers will not be disturbed by people trying to use the fire exits. Trampolines will be available as soon as they have been received from our supplier. In the meantime, it might be useful for occupants of Diggity Dogg Hall to obtain their own bungie cords and harnesses---a weight lifter-type harness works very well, we are told, and are available at sports-equipment stores. Luxury Boxes: We are also pleased to announce that since the 9th floor is actually the "Penthouse Floor" we are taking advantage of this designation to institute a new program for donors, utilizing underused space on the Penthouse Floor. Luxury boxes will be available for donors who give at least $100,000 to the Perelman Quadrangle Renovation Fund. Donors can use these to observe the various activities going on in and around the construction sites---the excavations, the flow of emergency vehicles (sirens blaring) that Spruce Street is famous for, the destruction of Spruce Street's trees; and when fire evacuations are in progress, the bungie-jumping. Donations will be used to "renovate" (render non-functional) the elevators in Diggity Dogg Hall, and to finance the continued removal of plumbing and other hydraulic facilities.
	Heat Day
	You have probably noticed that the issue of delivering heat to rooms in DDH continues to be a problem. Heat delivery is erratic and some rooms are very hot, while some do not appear to be receiving heat at all. Our newest plan for dealing with this problem is based on the old adage "If dealt lemons, make lemonade." Accordingly, we are now establishing a new policy, according to which heat will be delivered to rooms in DDH only on particular days, and not on others. If your room is now extremely hot, just wait a few days. The heat will dissipate and for a day or two, it will be comfortable. Meanwhile, heat will be being delivered to other rooms, perhaps one adjacent to yours, or on an adjacent floor. This heat will gradually dissipate through the walls, ceilings and floors, and heat the adjacent rooms, including yours, providing comfort. We are confident that this system will cost much less than any attempt to actually FIX the problem. At the moment, we are unable to establish a schedule for heat in various parts of the building, but a committee has been established to study the issue, and is expected to report back in a few weeks. It intends to work on the principle of "participant observation", that is, we will establish what your Heat Day will be by observing when in fact you have heat. That will become your designated Heat Day. We will keep you informed. In the meantime, please report when you do have heat (especially too much) and when you don't, and we will keep tabs on this and get back to you. Please note that if you do open your windows for ventilation, remember to close them, or you may have problems with pigeons entering your office and making messes. (See above message.) Please report your heat status according to the following rubrics: Excessive heat In excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Too hot In excess of 80 degrees F. Just right Around 70. Cool Less than 70. Cold Less than 60. You can report the mean temperature shown on your thermostat in the following ways: By email: rodent@pobox.upenn.edu You can also phone 898-heat, and report your current condition by voicemail. We are confident this new system will work well for all, once it gets established.
	More Heat Issues
	A number of people have complained that heat is not available in their rooms in Diggety-Dogg Hall, and that the offices are very uncomfortable. We have been informed by competent authorities that heat in DD Hall will be made available as soon as the heat source is on-line. A new heat vendor has been located and we are happy to be able to say that it will be provided by burning the trees being cut down on the north side of Spruce Street as we write [October 9, 2001]. As soon as all trees have been demolished, they will be trucked to a remote location, shredded, and burned, and heat will then come on line to DD Hall. This will only last, however, as long as the wood lasts. After those trees have been destroyed, the vendor will begin with trees along Locust Walk and other locations on campus. With any luck, all trees on campus will eventually disappear, and our buildings will be toasty warm. For further information about heat, contact Maria Romeo.
	Facilities
	View stunning full-color photographs of Diggity Dog Hall .