University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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The returning Dr. Holland paid the junior class fine and became part of the 1889 class slogan, Holland, he pays the freight”. After a spectacular eight year tenure, Holland resigned in 1900 to be replaced by Dr. John A. Brashar. Personal business interests compelled that he also resign in 1904, despite his valiant attempts to carry on. Dr. Samuel Black McCormick became the elected Chancellor. When he was elected to office, the University was rapidly approaching another milestone. The student body numbered over nine hundred; the faculty one hundred and forty; the alumni two thousand and five hundred; endowments were approaching a half a million dollars; and property valued at more than one million. On July 11, 1908 the Western University of Pennsylvania became the University of Pittsburgh. Three months later, on October 2, 1908, Dr. McCormick laid the cornerstone for the first University building on the Oakland campus, the School of Mines. The cornerstone for Soldiers and Sailors Hall was set on the same day. Oakland was perfect as a building point for the University; all departments and schools could be unified. A magnificent array of Gothic structures were designed, at an estimated cost of $10,000,000. McCormick attempted earnestly to raise the money, and completed the construction of three buildings by 1911. Oakland was the area of Schenley AW Th 1415 rut «» «■ T—m OW,K(P p) Wwa . m '• •••■ C fW«, and 4w 4 v »«' ►» y a» Pm MI vnWt n winning It mwgKl f»»n.» Thn Warn » arinawtedgad m n 4 IK MM’I M dMUn I . At IK ttom ,ncl,M Jack SvtKwtand. wh l t . fathmg in 1 14. gmng Pin 1} y wt •4 faatball wpiMwy. and Ida k c«n» g h 4 A Sl W Farms located two miles outside of the city proper. The name Oakland” first appeared in 1839 in a local paper called the Harris Intelligencer. The May 25 issue reports that in 1836 James Chadwick sold his one hundred and sixty nine acre farm. B.A. Fahnstock, a physician, purchased a few plots and named it Oakland. As downtown expanded and became more congested, population shifted toward Oakland. In 1886, the city annexed Oakland township. The area was still largely undeveloped commercially. Many estates were still intact, the largest belonging to Mrs. Mary Schenley, the great grand-daughter of George Groghan, who had received 200,000 acres of land from the Indians in 1749. In 1889, Mrs. Schenley donated 300 acres to the city for the park which bears her name. In the late 1890's, Andrew Carnegie built a museum, library and lecture hall on the estate. He also gave a SI million donation to build the Carnegie Institute nearby. Next he offered the city money to construct and staff a technical school east of his museum. The school opened in 1905, and in 1912 was granted a charter giving it authority to award advanced degrees under the name Carnegie Institute of Technology. Old northside neighbors, the Pirates, came to Oakland and Forbes Field in 1909. The next decade found Oakland 18

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Ab v. Th«k»«y StfMl dumf lh« thiriiM Hahii !«• »w ii wfc « ih« ton , lb» p ?vlo bo lex today'• Of ..It gat l»» •x mo» I ho wot on a popvlai amvtomoal po k dv ing Iho fOOfxtg rwowtiot. . Oomot. rtdot. ond fvnhoutot —Mwf twod Iho yowth o( yottwyoof which they did by 1875. One of the most valuable assets was a collection of geological specimens donated by Reverend Joseph Travelli. The collection consisted of over four thousand mineral specimens, all of which moved to Oakland in 1908. Until the beginning of the year 1890 the Western University of Pennsylvania consisted of the college and the Preparatory School. Two district faculties taught, with boys twelve or older eligible to enroll in the Prep school to prepare for college level courses. Faculty meetings were held weekly. Topics for discussion varied widely, as they do now. In 1872, the School of Law was opened and has built a reputation nationally. The dedication of the new structure and facilities on the Oakland campus this year should enable that reputation to grow even greater in the future. Forty-four students enrolled in the first class of the Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy in 1878. Meeting in the chemical lecture room of the old University, Dr. Henry Stevens, Dr. W.C. Reiter and F.C. Phillips taught the first lessons. Growing weary of the congested, dirty city, the trustees were more than anxious to sell the downtown property to the Allegheny County Commissioners after the county courthouse burnt to the ground in 1882. Sold for $80,000, the building was stripped of furnishings and equipment, which were moved across the river to a site on North Avenue in Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh's North Side). It was here that the famous Pitt yell Allegenee-e-e-e'' originated. Dr. McCracken, serving as chancellor began the move. His transfer to become President of New York University opened the door for Milton P. Goff to complete construction of the Northside campus. Once completed, new and broader ideas were adopted, with the establishment of full courses in chemistry and engineering conducted in large laboratories. The Preparatory School was discontinued. The sudden death of Goff advanced Dr. William J. Holland to the chancellorship in 1892. This term was to mark the third great achievement of the University. Holland brought it to this milestone by establishing graduate studies. The Engineering School was enlarged to include instruction in mining and electricity. In 1892, the Western Pennsylvania Medical College was merged with the University. The founding of the Dental Department in 1896 found the institution with seven distinct departments. Holland also handled a student uprising of major proportions. After some vandalism during Dr. Holland's absence, the dean suspended the entire junior class and the other three classes walked out in sympathy. 17

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Alwoyt • IfOII paw . tK» Umv tily ho% l»U«d hompM««h.p '•omt linn |K« tv n «l ih v » ry in mn « ikw i».lv« ip n On •P(Mf« pof y v w« a Xixk mnl W i m IhntiM Not. « |K« • vipmnni On tfcn poy» • nl» « • »•« I ploy»d m Intel R W, in 191 . bd«m KilandfmSHM ftel unnitMmniky »• « ynnn undergoing rapid growth as a civic center. Soldiers and Sailors Hall, the Syria Mosque, the Masonic Temple, and the Bureau of Mines now had head quarters in Oakland. The University was also growing. In 1911, enrollment was two thousand three hundred. By 1921, it had bounded to fourteen thousand. Pitt was now home for more than half of all students in higher education from Western Pennsylvania. In 1921 when John Gabbert Bowman became chancellor, the University was crowded into one-fourth the space it needed for laboratories, offices and classrooms. The school was deeply in debt. The first summer sessions had been introduced in 1912. The first evening school, the School of Business Administration, the School of Education and the Extension Division had become integral parts of the university mission. Expansion was needed on a larger scale for the Academy had outgrown even the fondest dreams of its creators. Studies showed that eight or ten larger buildings would be necessary to serve the ever expanding needs of the school. Estimates of the gigantic expense of construction and maintenance of such a building program and the difficulty of finding a suitable site, prompted Bowman toward an alternate solution. The Acropolis plan was scratched and plans made to build the University up instead of out were drawn up. Despite constant opposition, even from the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Bowman held out for his dream. He accepted a donation of a fourteen acre tract known as Frick Acres . He envisioned a high tower which in addition to housing classrooms and administrative offices, would serve as a visible symbol of an emerging metropolitan University. Bowman insisted that the structure is to be . . . forceful, unafraid, sublime, with a sense of upwardness. Its lift, buttress after buttress, rising, but never arriving at a spire, will suggest force enough to go still beyond ... to go ahead in a physical world and in a world of spirit. Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klander finally produced a three inch sketch of the Chancellor's dream at a meeting which lasted until 4 A.M. Women's groups opposed the tower citing as arguments fears that students would tumble from the high windows as the structure swayed in the breeze. Others opposed the University undertaking such a massive project when in such debt. Undaunted and still committed. Bowman raised more than nine million in contributions for the structure. Corporate contributions, then a new idea, led the way. Ninety-seven thousand school children made ten cent contributions and received certificates. The effort began to attract nation wide attention, including a full-page spread in the New York Times. 19