A Brief History of CAED's Poly Canyon

Dean George Hasslein strongly encouraged students to build structures on campus to experiment and develop through the campus's motto, "learn by doing." Then the campus President, Robert Kennedy, still preferred to have the structures removed shortly after having been built. Dean Hasslein asked repeatedly for land on campus where he could leave some structures up on a more permanent basis so students could learn from their example. After being refused land several times, Dean Hasslein decided to go elsewhere for such a place. Dean Hasslein asked Alex Madonna if he would like to have architecture students building experimental structures along the freeway, as an attention grabber for the Inn. Alex Madonna loved the idea. Dean Hasslein then went to President Kennedy and told him not to worry, and that all of the projects would now be built on Madonna's land. It was right after that when the Dean was told that he had his land on campus property.
In 1963, Cal Poly assigned nine acres of land in a nearby canyon to use as an ongoing construction site. Hans Mager described how certain aspects of the site worked together. "The Canyon now is a small village with many kinds of experimental buildings where cows walk around. One sculpture specifically made by George Hasslein's fifth year students was in the shape of a big, stylized banana tree. We found the cows liked to use it to scratch their necks."