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We all know our FIU campuses are beautiful, vast and exotic places. But for all their beauty and splendor, the more time you spend enjoying the scenery, the more you notice things are not always what they seem. At some point you will come across something and ask, “Why?”
We list nine that made us go, “huh?”
1. Those fake ducks behind The Frost
Behind the Frost Art Museum, half a dozen ducks frolick in the pond every day. But look closer. They’re fake! Even odder, this lake also has the highest concentration of real ducks at Modesto A. Maidique Campus.
2. That bridge to nowhere
All Panthers have heard of the kissing bridge and the magical powers it holds. There is a lesser known bridge that has perplexed students for years: the Bridge to Nowhere. Its magical powers have yet to be discovered. Is it a gateway to a parallel universe? We have no idea!
3. The immovable trash can
The photo on the left was taken in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew and the photo on the right was taken in 2012. Not even the Wall of Wind could move this trash can! How long has it been here?
4. The FIU island (aka Henington Island)
First of all, do you know FIU has an island? It does – on the NW corner of the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. Rumor has it FIU’s first groundskeeper is buried on it. Close, but no. In 1988, the island was dedicated to Charles Hennington, the university’s first and only superintendent of grounds who created MMC’s lush landscape.
5. That chained hole next to the breezeway
Between PC and the dorms, there’s a small crater partially cordoned off. Is it an art installation or the remnants of a meteorite?
6. That creepy sound installation
The eerie sounds that come from the Paul Cejas School of Architecture Building have made many students wonder if the building is haunted. It’s not; it’s the Breezeway, a permanent sound exhibition installed in 2004.
7. PC or CP?
Is it PC for Primera Casa or CP for Charles Perry? The building with two names has stumped many-a-freshman since it’s usually the very first building they visit. So Panthers, is it PC or CP?
8. Those mysterious bells
The FIU bells have always been a mystery. They randomly chime famous songs such as The Beatles’ ”Yesterday” and the theme song from the Godfather. Who is this master bell player? And where in the world are those bells located?
9. Then there’s this….
What happens to our Panther at the end of this 2008 athletics video?
Let’s us know in the comment section of any odd things you’ve noticed around campus.
– by Doug Garland
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Cool article. The bridge to nowhere is a prop of the Kissing Bridge from a Homecoming parade float when the theme was FIU traditions. Sorry to ruin the mystery 🙂
The Architecture building thing is pretty weird and creppy.. lol
LOL. An explanation to the bells would be amazing, but the mystery is still one I’ve always loved. Great article.
The bridge in front of GL is a prop from the Panther Prowl and Lip Sync of Homecoming 2009! It looked good back then so that is why it was left out there, for the university to enjoy, although i dont suggest stepping across it anymore! Cheers.
Great article! The sounds at Paul Cejas always creeped me out and no one believed me when I would mention them!
I always wonders why PC/CP looks like something out of Jurassic Park
It all makes perfect sense. Finally.
Loved this piece. Ah, the mystery of the bells…
The architecture building by far is the creepiest thing ever. I hate it cuz it just unnerves me. Also always wondered about that little mini bridge that is randomly posted in the grass. This stuff is totally on point. Random stuff FIU.
I’ve been on the faculty here since 1975 and have enjoyed many of the “unexplained things” on campus. I’ll try to send a favorite or two.
By way of an explanation, the sound above the passageway in the Paul Cejas Architecture building is an installation by the great sound artist Gustavo Matamoros. The work was commissioned as part of Florida’s “Art in Public Places”, allowing for a small percentage of the building’s cost to be devoted to permanent art works. “Weird and creepy”…yes, but it wakes up my hearing big time. When I go by there, I like to hang around for a little bit to enjoy it. Here is a link to a work he did in 2007.
http://gustavo-matamoros.blogspot.com/
The SoA thing is pretty explainable. If you look in the video when she’s facing the engineering building, there a long overhang. Under that is a metal box-shape that runs the length of it. That is a sound installation by a sound artist. I forgot his name, but his studio is on Lincoln Road. If you’ve been there recently and been hit with random sounds coming from speakers on the side of the building where the Britto studio is, that’s the same guy. His studio is next door.
Can anyone tell me why there’s a Coral Gables concrete street sign in the lake next to Chili’s Too in GC?
The fake ducks are typically used to disguise an irrigation system pulling water from the lake into a sprinkler system.
I may be wrong but I’m pretty sure the bell sounds come from the church across from FIU on 107th, St. Agatha Catholic Church. I attended school there K-8,and the bells came with the new church building back in 2006 or 2007