Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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The subway by this time had been con- tinued to 242nd Street, and New Yorkers flocked to the new college in such force that the original estimates for accommo- dation had to be revised continually. These are still being revised as collegiate education reaches out more and more into the lives of the humblest of citizens. By 1927, when the Chapel was planned, the population had already overrun the first estimates and the new building, started by Brother Thomas and finished by Brother Cornelius was more than twice as big as was called for in the original plans. W' ith the Chapel, the Quadrangle was completed. New demands, however, stressed the need of more living quarters and Chrysostom Hall was inserted be- tween De La Salle and Alumni Halls. Another dormitory building, planned for the East of the Chapel has never really been needed, since Manhattan draws so liberally from the neighboring territory whence men may travel home each even- ing. On this spot, in 1930, Brother Gabriel completed one of the most charm- ing touches on the campus in erecting a grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes. Brother Patrick further improved the grounds in setting out the formal garden before the grotto and in carrying through other plans for cultivating and beautitying the shrubs, trees, and other verdant features of the campus. The continued expansion of the college 20

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was the ordinary gateway through which early visitors approached this edge of the wilderness. Things moved slowly. ln 1900 a design for a new building was presented that followed the general lines of schoolhouses of that day. Tight and high, the plans called for a live-story building, lavish with high-ceilinged hall- ways. To the back, the Brothers were to be provided with overhanging iron bal- conies whence they might look down on a cemented walk around a most efficient- looking power house, whose high stack was its most important piece of archi- tecture. Fortunately the plan was never realized. Through the years the execu- tion of the plan was interrupted, until, with the advent of World War I, disci- pline at Manhattan was taken over by Military authorities and the College bustled with the needs and demands of a Student Training Corps. Shortly after the end of the war a competition was announced for a group of buildings to grace the Spuyten Duyvil site. Seven important Hrms sent plans, each with a merit of its own. Spanish, Renaissance, Gothic and modernistic in- terpretations of the needs of the new college were excellently drawn and lav- ishly presented. Most of them called for a series of buildings strung along the hill, with a central mall overlooking the sub- way. The plans adopted were made by O'Connor and Delaney, who, in orient- ing their buildings, provided maximum exploitation of light, a restrained South- ern colonial Georgian design, and a cent- ral Quadrangle, whose lawns and trees were to be as significant a part of our concept of Manhattan as are the great arches they designed to knit the build- ings together. The beauty and success of these de- signs have been proved with time. New Yorkers, not familiar with the College are always pleasantly surprised to come upon this green in the city, this peace in the hub-hub, this architectural harmony so often lacking in college building groups. lt is nearly twenty-five years now since the first four buildings graced the hill. The Administration building, Manhattan and De La Salle Halls and the Alumni Gymnasium were finished in 1923.

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was signalized in 1938 by the dedication of the Cardinal Hayes Library. Marking the Diamond Jubilee of the college and the Golden anniversary of His Eminence, Patrick, Cardinal Hayes, the beautiful and harmonious library building was dedicated, with elaborate ceremonies, on April 26 of that year. Today every vista presents a pleasing prospect. The trees in the Quadrangle have attained the proportions of matur- ity. Ivy clings to the Walls, mounting almost to the roof. Chrysostom Hall, emhowered in its ivy sheath, is set amidst the lush green of a mature rock garden and the smiling pink and White of bloom- ing peonies. The grotto has lost its barren formality and presents a wealth of wav- Z1 ing fronds that completely encircle Our Lady's statue. Ivy and green, set off in the spring by flaming azaleas are the characteristic note of Manhattan's park- like surroundings. Manhattan's campus may not yet be a finished whole. Curricular and population needs seem to indicate the erection of yet other buildings to round out the collegiate plant. Engineering and Science labora- tory needs seem to be crying for quarters where the work may be done more con- Veniently that is at present possible. Our group of photographs records today's situation. VVe have tried to include spots and scenes as the camera sees them now. We feel conhdent that in the years ahead these views will be changed as radically as ours are from those of 1924.