University of Chicago - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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THE UNIVERSITY Ztbe Illbibwag of the Jfuture O TRANSFORM the Midway Plaisance into a veritable garden of classical '75 T ., , interest is the plan of Lorado Taft, one of America's foremost sculptors and a member of the Art faculty of the University. lt is the present intention to X ifui' extend the depressions ofthe Midway from the llagoons ofjackson Park to I L L the small lakes ot Xliaslnngton Park, thus forming a continuous.waterway sig? ill from park to park. lklr. laft plans to construct three massive bridges over this waterway, crossing at Madison, Woodlawn and -Ellis avenues respect- ' 1YClj'. lhe general scheme of bridge construction will represent the great -1 classical subjects of the world, namely, Science, Art and Religion. The bridge at Madison avenue will be called the Bridge of Sciences, that at llfoodlawn the Bridge of Arts, and that at Ellis the Bridge of Faithsfl Each will be adorned with appropriate statuary. Probably the most artistic work of the general theme, especially from the sculptor's point of view, will be the two large fountains erected at either end of the Midway lagoons. At the east end will be the Fountain of Creationu and at the west the t'Fountain of Time. The Fountain of Creation will represent the Grecian myth of Deucalion' and Pyrrha and will illustrate by successive clusters the idea of evolution as expressed by this old legend, There will be in this fountain twelve groups containing in all thirty-six figures of ten feet in height, arranged in an ascending plane, Between each of the twelve groups will appear a small water-fall, which drops into the circular basin around which the fountain, with its statuary, is constructed. At the west end of the Midway will rise the Fountain of Time. Time will be rep- 1'esented by a craig-like figure of Father Time viewing a throng of hurrying people. This procession of pushing men and women will show indistinct people following each other in a huddled crowd, eagerly flying onward they know not where. These Hgures will rise from a great jet of water on one side of the fountain and on the other side sink from sight just as people do in contrast with the everlasting element, Time. The whole theme of this transformation of our Midway is the original idea of Mr. Taft, who has spent much time in formulating the plans. VVhen completed. this thorough- fare on which our University frontrwill be one of the most unique, artistic and classical boulevards in the world. B 7

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CA P A N D G O lflf' :Y , 55 r umrrfmrmuvml lihranivss I jmassiis -Zltubrrn-Tenauevrs W iistom mm Dnuosoumi-W A ,.-.... M 1 I '. , 7, 'L -. A- ' . . 1 t li .,..FE,FiPQ'.. . T 55 'll Q A. . . i rifvww il H H . ,fa lift la lf? S B H -HW treatin Qwiif'2 it tw!-f is'sffe'r.fi mtv 'Wan s H 'Els sbt:-Q -I In 551531: jg qgg ph' '13, 'li ,I V!! ill Q,-if K? ti: We 53,55 'MQ I lil F W!! I W i Ube 1barper Illbemorial library HE central library of the University is to stand in the middle of the south line of the main quadrangle, and the chief educational buildings of the south side of the quadrangles are to be so connected with it and with each other as to make the entire group practically one great library, with associated class rooms and ofhces. One of the features of the building is the placing of the reading room on the top floor, the stack rooms and ofhces beneath it. A second feature is the joining of the library building to adjacent departmental buildings by arched stone bridges on the level of the reading room floor. The result of these two features is that when the whole group, for which plans have already been drawn, is completed, the central library building will be flanked on the west by the buildings of Modern Languages and the Classics, and on the east by the buildings of the Historical and Philosophical groups. It will also be connected at the west end with the Has- kell Oriental Museum and at the east end with Law. The stone bridges connecting the library with the Haskell and the Law buildings will be built at once, so that from the begin- ning the essential and distinctive peculiarity of this group of buildings will be operative, The main library building consists of a central section, flanked on the east and west by two rectangular towers, each approximately 60 by 50 feet and about twenty feet higher than Mitchell Tower. The entire building measures 246 feet long and GO feet wide. The towers will be occupied by stack rooms in the basement and hrst floors, and above by reading rooms, ofhces, and special rooms of various kinds. Eventually the central section of the building will have four floors of stacks, one Hoor of library ofhces and rooms for similar pur- poses, while the top floor will be devoted exclusively to the great reading room. This room will be approximately 54 by 160 feet. There will be a suite of rest rooms for women on the second floor, and a conversation and smoking room for men in the ,east tower. The ultimate book capacity of the central library building will be approximately one million volumes. Space will be temporarily given for the use of the President's office and for lecture rooms, class rooms and offices, On the first floor will be a beautiful lecture room, to be called the Harper Assembly Room. The memorial character of the building will be signalized not only by its name, but also, it is hoped, by a statue of President Harper, to be placed just north of the center of the building. ERNEST D. BURTON. lliw' :t,,.,.., 6

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CA P A N D G O PV N - nu V 1 I l ev '--11:1 UDB WUCIITHI IEOIICHUOIIHI G:Ol1lIl1i5SlOl1 ROFESSOR Ernest D. Burton, as head of a commission appointed by the trustees of the University to study educational conditions in the Orient, left Chicago on the 15th of Iuly, 1908, for China. Mr. Burt0n's co-commissioner was Professor Thomas C, Chamberlain, while Dr. Horace Reed and Dr. Rollin T. Chamberlain were secretaries to the commission. Mr. Burton stopped for a month in England. where he conferred with persons acquainted with conditions in the Orient and with a committee representing Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Constantinople was reached on September 14 and Beirut and Cairo visited. Mr. Burton then sailed for Bombay and made a six-thousand-mile journey through India. After touching at Penang and remaining several days in Singapore the party arrived in Hong-Kong on December 17. Mr. Chamberlain and his son, with Mr. Y. T, WVang, a student of the University who was acting as Chinese secretary, arrived via San Francisco on the 2d of February. Nearly six months were spent in China and a two-months' trip was made into the far west of China by boat up the Yangtsze river and by Sedan- chairs over- land. The whole party, including the commission servants, guards, etc., numbered seventy- six persons. T In all parts of China the Chinese officials were consulted, the schools, governmental and missionary, visited, and a study made both of the educational needs of the country and the wonderful progress already made in the introduction of the newer education. On Iune 5 Mr. Chamberlain left Peking for Mukden, whence he returned to Chicago via the Trans-Siberian railway and Europe. Mr. Burton, however, on leaving Mukden, chartered a special sixteen-foot car with a party of eleven Americans and made a two-days' journey over the narrow-guage road across South Manchuria to Anting-two hundred miles. Three days were spent at Pyesug Yang and Seoul, the capital of Korea, where interviews were held with leading government officials and educators. Mr, Burton left Seoul June 19 for Fusan. Six weeks were spent in Japan visiting the principal cities and many of the smaller towns. Special attention was is not only the capital of Japan, but also an impo.rtant educational center. The Imperial University, several large private colleges and some of the leading located here. Interviews were held at this point with high officials and tional work of the Japanese government was studied. given to Tokyo, which Christian schools are the remarkable educa- On the way home a day was spent in Honolulu looking into conditions in the territor . .. 3' or Hawaii, and Chicago was reached August 25, making an absence of over thirteen months. The commission presented its report to the University at the end of December. 8