2021 marks the 55th anniversary of Town&Gown. Over the past seven decades, it has been our honor and privilege to serve as your window into the Penn State University, State College, and Centre County communities. As the year comes to a close, we are excited to publish this special commemorative edition as part of our celebration.
A lot has changed in our community over the years. This edition will provide a snapshot of that change by featuring photos of every cover of every Town&Gown published. Never before has this been attempted by us. This totals 672 covers from January 1966 through December 2021. As you will notice, the early covers are all in black and white; full-color covers did not begin until the mid-1980s. These classic and contemporary covers tell the story of growth and change. No one could have imagined how a sleepy little college town prior to the 1960s could grow into such a modern and diverse community.
We will tell this story chronologically by decade. Each decade will start out with a brief overview, followed by yearly galleries of covers.
Town&Gown was first published in January 1966. The 1960s were a time of growth off campus and full of social change and protest. The 1970s saw highway construction in our area, advances for women, and Coach Joe Paterno’s transformation of Penn State football into a national power. The 1980s are best represented by the advent of technology both on campus and within the community. The 1990s saw Penn State’s entry into the Big Ten Conference and continued growth in State College and the surrounding communities. The 2000s started with the shock of 9/11 and then the growth of our local interstate. The 2010s shook Penn State to its core with a child sex scandal that placed the national spotlight on the university and its football program. The 2010s also can be remembered as a decade of diversity, as more students from all parts of the world and different backgrounds were welcomed to our community. Finally, the 2020s, so far, are remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to State College’s architectural landscape.
Of course, this is just a brief outline of the past five-plus decades; there is so much more to our area than just these representative stories. Our community is one of constant change, set against the background of a timeless university. Whenever the students are in town, our community feels young and vibrant. Since I moved to State College in 2004, I sometimes feel as though I am the only person aging. The students are the economic engine that drives our community!
Penn State University and the community that surrounds it are a testament to cooperation. Each month, Town&Gowncaptures the best of both. On our pages, we feature well-known community, business, and campus leaders and many of the wonderful volunteers who make our region special. We feature stories on local history, food and drink, economic development, and community events. Town&Gown will always be a Penn State and State College tradition that archives who we were, who we are, and who we will become.
