Stanford University - Quad Yearbook (Palo Alto, CA)

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igoS Stanford fall of this chimney demolished the boiler room and the adjoining Quad building. On the Row, the frame houses shook like reeds with the force of the shock. But most of them escaped without any substantial damage. The Chi Psi lodge, however, was thrown from its foundations, and so bent and twisted within and without that the only wonder is that it was not torn to pieces. The duration of the earthquake, as officially recorded, was forty- seven seconds. There were in reality two separate shocks, one imme- diately following the other,, and displaying even greater violence than its predecessor. By the time of the ces.sation of the second shock, practi- cally the entire population of the campus was out of doors witnessing the havoc that had been wrought. Everywhere there was a disheartening spectacle of ruin such as none of those who saw it ever wish to see again. The spire of Memorial Church had fallen, and the tower of the edifice was a wreck, crowned by the square wooden portion of the belfry, which had not gone down with the tiling. The front wall of the nave had also fallen, leaving the organ exposed, and sending a bright flood of daylight into those precincts formerly unlit save by the storied windows, richly dight, on which were portrayed in the softest colors the deeds of Biblical heroes, from Abraham to the Maccabees. Behind the church, several hundred feet of arcades, which were not held up, as were the others, by being joined to the buildings, were completely leveled. Memorial Arch had lost its heavy stone cap, and the frieze, The Progress of Civilization, which was designed by Augustus St. Gaudens, was utterly destroyed. Down the sides of the Arch extended gaping seams, even to the bases. The falling fragments of the Arch had broken down the adjoining arcades, and crushed in a portion of the roof of Assembly Hall. In front of the Zoology Building, the statue of Louis Agassiz, which stood on a stone shelf above the three central arches of the arcade, had fallen head first, and was imbedded fully two feet in the concrete jiavement below. Strange to say, the statue was not broken, and is now restored to its old station. The Chemistry Building had lost all its numerous chimneys and a I 24

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THROUGH THE ARCADES IN THE CHANCEL

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portion of its front wall. Both wings of the Museum were down, but the central part stood firm. One of the four statues that rested on the fagade above the entrance was dashed to pieces on the steps below. The extent of the damage inside of the Museum is not known by the general public even at the present time. By far the worst scenes of destruction were presented by the two uncompleted buildings, the Gymnasium and the Library. The great pillars that formed the entrance to the former had crumpled like paper and fallen. The small steel dome that crowned the edifice was twisted out of shape, and the walls were cracked from roof to basement. The Li- brary was a heap of wreck- age, but the great dome stood unscathed in the center. Such, in a mere glance, was the view of the Univer- sity that presented itself to the eyes of those who rushed out of doors that morning. Everyone feared a repetition of the shock, and few dared to venture back to their rooms. Almost immediately, A SECTION OF THE LIBRARY y j-dcr of the authorities, the buildings were surrounded by ropes and danger signs were posted. Guards were set at all entrances to prevent anyone from risking his life among the tottering walls. President Jordan, in order to calm the excitement and prevent a stampede, issued a statement at once declaring that the regular work of the University would be resumed on Friday ; but it was apparent to every- one that the c ondition of the buildings was such that this would be absolutely impossible. During the first day nearly everyone remained out of doors, avoiding stone walls, and spent the time in relating 25 Stanford Quad igo8