Welcome to Auburn, loveliest village of the plain and home territory for the education aspirations and accomplishments of generations of Alabamians.

            This guidebook points visitors toward the landmarks of architectural, historical, and human interest on the campus of Alabama’s land-grant university. Three walking tours explore the heart of the campus, and a “windshield tour” covers the sprawling periphery of an ever-growing university community. Readers will gain an eagle’s-eye perspective on life at Auburn and a ground-level appreciation of the buildings, monuments, and other features of the campus landscape.

            Original paintings and sketches by the author supplement photographic images and a lively text to convey a panorama of the Auburn spirit. The traditions of Ag Hill, the social scene at Toomer’s Corner, the action at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the cutting-edge research in state-of-the-art scientific and technical facilities – all these and many other facets of Auburn become fresh and vivid through this guide. The narrative acquaints visitors with facts and legends about Samford Hall, Langdon Hall, and other buildings of particular architectural and historical distinction, and it also brings to light the significance of less-well-known campus structures in the experience of “the passing parade” – the students, teachers, townspeople, and university leaders who have shaped and reshaped Auburn over the years.

            As befits a university with proud programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design, the author pays special attention to how and why the buildings look as they do, and to how they fit together to create a setting for an academic community. Along the routes of the tours, the author identifies many “outdoor living rooms” – landscaped spaces where people interact with one another and with their environment to experience the way of life that is quintessentially Auburn.