Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

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THE PAST YEAR HE history of the past year is the history of the most eventful epoch of the University ' s existence. Never before have such numerous and important steps in material progress been made ; never before has there been an equal uplift in the culture and mental life of the University ; never before has the University passed through the stress of so grievous a trial as was her lot in the year which now passes into history. That the record of those events which have distinguished the year may be preserved for our own recollection in future years, and for the benefit of succeeding generations of students, is the purpose of this history. No doubt the event of the year whose results have been, and will be, the most far-reaching, has been the completion and opening for use of the new assembly building, Eliza Fowler Hall. The need of some central institution at the University about which the various activities will be centered, of a place of meeting of students and faculty in deHberative or other assembly, and of a place for the gathering of audiences for the purposes of culture and entertainment, had long been a sore one at Purdue University. The gift of Mrs. Eli: Fowler to the University of the beautiful hall which bears her name has happily satisfied this need. The building is in itself a refining influence, in that it is an or- nament to the campus and appeals to the esthetic sense of every one. It is built of planed sandstone and white pressed brick, with a tiled roof. It is tastefully adorned with sculptured designs in relief, and the front portal is carved and gilded. One enters the building through an imposing doorway, and finds himself in a large and beautifully ornamented lobby, on either side of which are handsome marble stairways leading to the balcony. The auditorium is nearly square, and contains 1,369 opera chairs, so placed that there is no seat from which the rostrum is not in plain sight and easy hearing. The ceiling and mural decorations are modeled in deep relief, and are dignified and har- monious. Illumination by day is accompHshed by large windows which occupy the greater part of the east and

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life during the past generation of students, and evidences of unusual growth have been seen in the additional buildings which have appeared upon the campus. The Legislature of 1901 appropriated $60,000 for the erection of a new agricultural building, which was built and opened for classroom work in September, 1902. A fund of $10,000 as an annual annuity for the Farmers ' Institute was appropriated also by this same Legislature, and Purdue was appointed as the trustee of the fund. In the fall of 190 1, a great, long-felt want of the University was filled by the generous and philanthropic act of Mrs. Eliza Fowler, of Lafayette. A sum of $60,000 was given the University for the purpose of erecting a chapel and general auditorium, and in token of respect to the donor, the building was named the Eliza Fowler Hall. Mr. James Eliza Fowler, followed this gift by one of $5,000 purchase of an organ for the new hall. The opened to public use at the Commencement Exer- 1903 ; the organ was constructed the on May 4, 1904, both hall and organ elaborate ceremonies. The Legislative Ses- aided the University by whereby the income increased from one- one-tenth of a mill on State. A specific appro- power and heating plant erected and put into further, a sum of $60,000 of a building for the De- the work on the struc- The Legislature made ii Fowler, a son of Mrs. to be used in the building was first cises of the Class of following winter, and were dedicated with sion of 1903 further a legal amendment from the State was twentieth of a mill to each dollar of taxables in the priation of $75,000 for a central was also made, the same being service by the close of that year ; for the erection and equipment partment of Physics was appropriated, ture being at present well under way. ot her smaller appropriations for street improvements and immediate agricultural needs, thus manifesting throughout all its acts the intense interest with which the State regards the growth and success of Purdue. The fall of 1903 can never be forgotten. Out of that season of sorrow which followed the wreck at Indian- apolis there has sprung a keener spirit and an awakening of a closer bond between those of the old school and those of the new — a bond which will be strengthened by the presence of the Memorial Gymnasium intended to stand in the years to come as a monument to those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the new Purdue. The history of Purdue is a history full of action and spirit. From a mere struggling high school — to use the terms of her first great private benefactor — she has grown to be the largest purely technical institution in the West. That name which once was unfamiliar outside of a little circle has gone forth as a name of merit beyond the bounds of America. Through the accomplishments of her graduates, through the support of her friends at home and abroad, she has reached a place of supreme distinction and fills a wonderful purpose in the guidance of human affairs. Her course is clear to all, her aims are high, her motive and her spirit worthy of a great and glorious future. ii

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ELIZA FOWLER HALL