University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 29, May 1

            Impressive columns flank entrance of Gore Hall
     
     What weighs 24,000 pounds, stands over 31 feet tall, is
made of reinforced concrete and now has a prominent place on
the Mall?
     Each of the four columns that grace the Mall entrance
of Gore Hall, now under construction.
     Earlier this week, A.J. Dupuis Jr. and his son, Glenn,
arrived from Opelousas, La., where the columns were built.
The owners of Dupuis Memorials Inc. were invited to serve as
consultants during the Tuesday installation of the columns.
     A.J. Dupuis Jr. is founder of the 40-year-old, family-
owned-and- operated business that began manufacturing burial
vaults. About 20 years ago, he said, a woman asked him to
create a column for her home. Since then, Dupuis Memorials
has provided turned-concrete columns for colleges, banks,
homes and commercial and recreational complexes throughout
the Southeast and at sites as far north as Connecticut.
     One job alone-The Country Club of Louisiana, a Jack
Nicklaus planned community-involved the manufacture of 185
columns.
     According to Glenn Dupuis, the UD columns are the
tallest the company has built to date. At 31'6 1/8", he
added, the four Gore Hall columns are probably the tallest
Dupuis Memorials will ever build.
     The transport and safe delivery of the columns, A.J.
Dupuis said, is the most critical phase of the process.
Manufacturing and installation are not as difficult as most
assume.
     Glenn Dupuis, who has been in contact with UD site
construction personnel, said he was very confident of their
ability to handle and place the columns. Work began Tuesday
morning when the four-truck fleet arrived from Louisiana,
and the two matching sets of pillars were in place by the
end of the day.
     The base of each column is 48-1/2 inches in diameter,
and each tapers to a 39-1/2-inch-diameter at the top. A
square cap holds the top of each column in place.
     The four columns, which were manufactured during the
month of March, are hollow. Since they are made of concrete,
instead of fiberglass or wood, Glenn Dupuis said they are
able to support substantial weight. Dupuis Memorials uses a
special patented process, he said, that allows them to shape
and taper their columns to the exact specifications of the
architect.
     The Louisiana company has worked on several projects
with Allan Greenberg, the Gore Hall architect.
                                               -Ed Okonowicz