University of Toledo - Blockhouse Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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llI1I7C7' -Church of San -luan cle Los Reyes, Toledo, Spain l.mvcr Interior nil San juan de Los Reyes peculiarity is some chains of the Christian captives liberated during the conquest oi' Granada, hanging on the exterior of the building. The art presented in this Temple, like all the other ancient churches, palaces, etc., in Toledo, is so rich, so sumptuous, that it is more proper for expressing the enchantments of life than for serving as a medium of interpretation of mysticism and religious sentiments. n

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First Baptist Church, Toledo,Ohio San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo, Spain FTER the Cathedral this Temple is the most artistic Gothic structure in Toledo, although rather despoiled by unappreciative invaders. It is ' one of the richest and most beautiful specimens of florescent Gothic architecture in Spain. lt is a building of inestimable merit, erected by the Catholic kings in fulfillment of a vow made for the ending of the war in Portugal, and originally intended to be their sepulchre. Its cloisters, which enjoy universal fame, are perhaps the piece of Spanish architecture of which most reproductions have been made in foreign lands, existing as a model in all the schools in France. The Church itself, although of great beauty, is inferior to the cloisters which are as perfect a work of their type as is humanly possible. The Church is luxurious and marvelously decorated, as the cloisters are: however, the art and decorations of the latter are more graceful. Among many peculiarities in this monastery, the traveller finds three outstanding. One is the door which communicates with the cloisters. This door has a cross and two statues which resemble Ferdinand and Isabella. Another is a terrible allegory put in the refectory of the monks by order of the Queen. In an horizontal niche over the door there is a Hgure carved in horrible reality, which represents a corpse in the stage of putrification. Therefore, the monks had always in sight while eating, the image of death with all its horror and the repugnance of the corpse in that stage. The third A -

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l l i Gates of Toledo, Spain S related in the foregoing history of Toledo, the city is surrounded by the river Tagus, with the exception of the northern section. Access to the city is obtained, of course, through bridges. One of them, shown on the sketch on page 2, is without doubt the most picturesque and ancient. Of Moorishj origin, it was constructed almost entirely during the reign of Alphonso X, in the year 1258. After crossing the bridges one encounters a series of gates. The one that most attracts the attention of the traveller is the Gate of the Sun. This was built in the year 1100 to protect the city in case the front Pennsylvania Railroad and Cherry Street Bridges. Toledo, Ohio