NIU students and DeKalb residents interested in some local history can visit The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, and catch glimpses from the past.

NIU’s last historical display was in 1999 for its Centennial Exhibit, which was created by Glen Gildemeister, director of the NIU Regional History Center.

The new display, also created by Gildemeister, is titled “Windows Into the Past” and was designed to provide a history of DeKalb County through photographs.

Center curator Cindy Ditzler said the photos are a combination of pieces from the university and the community. She said the university and the community often don’t connect, and this is a way to exhibit the coexistence of the past.

Some of the pictures on display include the Feb. 17, 1979 fire at College Square Apartments (still located at Normal Road and Ridge Drive), which has been considered the worst apartment fire in DeKalb’s history. The three-story, 54-unit building burned down within five hours.

Other photos in the gallery include a 1997 photo of Victor E. Huskie. There’s also a photo of Altgeld Hall circa 1908, and women working in the Wurlitzer plant in 1942.

Other photographs show veterans’ housing in Still Gym after World War II. Photos of NIU’s football team from 1901 also are part of the exhibit.

Matthew Clark, general manager at The House (although he prefers the title “good vibes generator”), said the nice thing about having this display is that artists can receive feedback from people of all ages who see the photos. He added that older people are constantly pointing and giggling.

“When the older generation looks at the photos, I think that they have instant reminiscences of the past and how much fun it was, or they think about the memories,” Clark said.

Clark added that when younger people come in and look at the photos, they too are sometimes intrigued.

“Young people look at the photos and they see a now-and-then,” Clark said. “They are surprised at how different things are after lots of years.”

Clark said most musicians who come to The House enjoy looking at the photo of Ron Modell and Angel Rodriguez playing trumpets in 1993.

Gildemeister will give a lecture at 7 p.m. July 15 at The House to explain the history of some of the photos and answer questions about NIU and DeKalb County.

The photographs will be on display until July 29. For more information, call The House at 748-2880.