Drexel University - Spartan Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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., . . P G nv Q' il' nf fi ! .. '- fu , ' .' 1 Q ,f ' 5 ' DMINISTRAIIO ' 1 'n 5 4 A . 1 I 1 .1 I , l . 'A Hi- -' ,. ' , . . A 0 G . ' I f t' -lt' -f'x5'iFK3 was a?Qgg'jsA ex. ia 7 ,fi we , X A- . G9 THE Drexel Institute was founded by the late Anthony J. Drexel, in 1891, for the promotion of education in art, science and industry. The chief object of the Institute is the extension and improvement of industrial education as a means of opening better and wider avenues of employment to young men and young women. In accordance with the founder's desire, however, the plan of organization has been made comprehensive, providing liberal means of culture for the masses by means of lectures, evening classes, library and museum. Archi- tecturally and with respect to its appointments, the building is one of the finest devoted to educational purposes in this country. On the first lioor, opening from the Entrance Hall, are the Central Court fthe chief architectural feature of the buildingj, the Auditorium, the Science Lecture Room, the Library and Reading Room, and the Museum. The Auditorium or Assembly Room is a spacious hall capable of seating fifteen hundred persons, and is furnished with a grand organ. The Science Lecture Hall has chairs for three hundred students, and is equipped with every appliance necessary for scientific instruction. The Library and Reading Room is a fine apartment, 120 feet long by 60 feet wide. The Library already contains nearly twenty thousand volumes, about three thousand of which are valuable and important works on art, science and technology. The Reading Room is supplied with about two hundred periodicals in the various 17

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departments of literature, art, science and technology. The Museum contains collections in textile fabrics, embroideries, ceramics, carvings in ivory and wood, metal-work, etc. g a valuable collection of Egyptian antiquities, recently presented by Col. A. J. Drexel, and a collection of paintings by some of the first masters, bequeathed to the Institute by the founder. On the second and third floors, opening from the galleries which surround the Central Court, on the fourth fioor and in the basement are the smaller lecture rooms, class rooms, laboratories, studios, and workshops, numbering fifty-four in all, besides the coat rooms and laboratories. The Gymnasium, occupying the fourth story in the front of the building, is a large, well-ventilated room, supplied with dressing rooms and bath rooms. The building has its own steam, mechanical and electrical plant. Great attention has been paid to the heating and ventilation of the building, and it is lighted throughout by electricity. For the latter purpose 3000 incandescent lamps are required. To accommodate the increased demands made upon the Institute, two annexes consisting of buildings in the immediate vicinity have been opened and are devoted to laboratory, studio, and class room purposes. Annex No. I, on Chestnut Street east of the Institute, contains thirteen rooms 3 Annex No. 2, on Thirty-second Street west of the Insti- tute, contains sixteen rooms besides those devoted to the restaurant. The Institute, as at present constituted, comprises nine depart- ments. While each department is organized with reference to its special objects and courses of instruction, it sustains important relations to the other departments, and the various lines of work are carried on in so broad a spirit as to give a certaint unity of purpose to the scope and ends of the institution as a whole. The teaching body consists of over sixty Professors, Instructors, and Lecturers. During the year 1895-6, the various departments of the Institute were attended by more than 2800 students. The total attendance at the free public lectures and concerts was over 37,000. 18