Albion College - Albionian Yearbook (Albion, MI)

Page 14 text:

12 ALBION COLLEGE stories high, with a round tower which rises to three stories and is surmounted by a dome. On the lower floor are the lecture rooms of the departments of Astronomy and Mathematics and the pier- room, through which pass the brick supports for the fixed instru- ments. On the second floor are the transit room, containing the Transit Circle, Clock and Chronograph, a computing room, a room for portable instruments, and a room containing the Astronomical and Meteorological Library. In the round tower is placed the Equatorial. The Gymnasium was completed in 1892. The first story is of field stone; above this the building consists of a heavy frame inclosed with brick. The building has a frontage of 54 feet, and is 92 feet in depth, surmounted with a gothic roof to provide suffi- cient height. The McMillan Chemical Laboratory was erected in 1893, the gift of Hon. James McMillan, of Detroit. It is a substantial and modern building, three stories in height above the basement. It is occupied by the departments of Chemistry and Physics. The Lottie L. Gassette Memorial Library is a building of classic design, occupying a central position on the campus. It is 45 by 90 feet. It was given by the late Mrs. Charlotte T. Gassette, of Albion, in memory of her deceased daughter. Four Fraternity Halls have been erected on the east portion of the college grounds, the institution having granted leases of sites for a period of years. The Winter-Lau Athletic Field, of twelve acres, less than two blocks from the College, presents one of the best equipped athletic fields in the West.

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LOCATION Albion is a thriving city of 6,000 inhabitants, situated in the central portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The postal, telegraph and telephone facilities are equal to those of the larger cities in the state. Albion is on the main line of the Michigan Central Railroad, 95 miles west of Detroit. The Lansing division of the Lake Shore Michigan Southern crosses the Michigan Central at this place, providing direct connection with the main line of the Lake Shore on the south, and at the north with the Grand Rapids division of the Michigan Central, the Pere Marquette, the Grand Trunk, and other lines. The main line of the Michigan United Railways passes through Albion, giving hourly connections with points east and west. GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS The college campus contains eighteen acres. The old Central Building, 40 by 100 feet, through the generosity of George O. Robinson, LL. D., of Detroit, has been thoroughly renovated and enlarged so that it is in every respect an up-to-date building and now bears the name Robinson Hall. The entire interior of the old building has been reconstructed and an addition four stories in height has been built on the east side of the old building. This addition is 45 by 60 feet and is devoted to the Biological and Botanical Laboratories, together with work rooms and store rooms. The north building, situated just north of the foregoing, is 80 feet long, 50 feet wide and three stories in height. It contains four lecture rooms, quarters for the Commercial School, the Art Studio and two Literary Societies. The Chapel Building stands directly south of the Central Building, and is three stories high, 80 feet long and 50 fee t wide. The second and third stories are wholly devoted to chapel purposes. The first story is devoted to the work of the Conservatory of Music and the Secretary ' s Office. The Astronomical Observatory, erected in 1883, is two

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS The purpose of the founders, as expressed in the charter and adhered to in all subsequent amendments, was to establish and maintain a College of Liberal Arts. This is the character of the school today. It is not a theological school. It aims to educate young men and women for the business of life, bearing ever in mind that no education is complete or genuine that neglects the factors of moral and spiritual worth. Albion College is distinc- tively a Christian school. It imposes no theological tests and no religious exactions beyond regular attendance on the daily chapel exercises and at the church of the students ' choice on Sunday. While Albion College demands true scholarship first, last and all the time, she consistently teaches that higher life that is above text-books and laboratory classes and that manifests itself in use- fulness to society as well as to the individual who possesses it. She holds a high ideal of service, and few students leave her halls without this impress deep-seated in their characters. LIBRARIES, LABORATORIES AND OBSERVATORY LIBRARIES. The Library Building, the gift of the late Mrs. Charlotte T. Gassette, of Albion, Michigan, is a substantial new brick structure, well equipped, containing 21,600 volumes, besides about 4,000 un- bound volumes and pamphlets. The Reading Room, commodious and attractive, is abundantly supplied with encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexicons, and general works of reference, together with such books as are temporarily assigned