Cathedral of Learning
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The Cathedral of Learning is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at 535 feet (>163 m), the forty-two story tall Cathedral is the second tallest educational building in the world (the tallest is the main building at Moscow State University in Russia). The Cathedral was commissioned in 1921 and finished in 1937, and has 2,529 windows. As an impressive scenic building, the Cathedral of Learning is often used by the University in photographs, postcards, and other advertisements.
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Usage
The basement through floor thirty-six are used for educational purposes. These range from theaters, computer labs, and classrooms to departmental offices. It is in this building that the philosophy department, regularly considered one of the top five in the world [1] (http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/overall.htm), is housed. Other departments are held in the Cathedral, including the English and Religious Studies offices. Additionally, the University Honors College is located on the 36th floor. Floors 38-42 are closed off to the general public, as they contain electrical wiring for the building. One can still view scenes from the top via a webcam [2] (http://www.umc.pitt.edu:16080/tour/cl_cam.html).
History
In 1921, John Gabbert Bowman traveled to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to become the tenth chancellor of the University. At that time, the school consisted of a series of short, small buildings, with some classes being held in "temporary" buildings from World War I. The story goes that as he entered the city, he asked a streetcar driver to take him to the University. When that driver had no idea what he was talking about, Bowman decided he had to do something to make sure the University made an impression on the city. He then began to envision what would be called the Cathedral of Learning.
His reasoning is summarized in this quote: "The building was to be more than a schoolhouse; it was to be a symbol of the life that Pittsburgh through the years had wanted to live. It was to make visible something of the spirit that was in the hearts of pioneers as, long ago, they sat in their log cabins and thought by candlelight of the great city that would sometime spread out beyond their three rivers and that even they were starting to build."
In attempting to find a suitable place for this building, Bowman's eyes were drawn to a 14 acre (57,000 m²) plot of land named Frick Acres. In November of 1921, with aid from the Mellon family, the University bought the plot, and began plans for a proper university building on the site.
One of the foremost Gothic architects of the time, Philadelphian Charles Klauder, was hired to build the tower. The design took two years to finish, with the final plan attempting to fuse the idea of a modern skyscraper with the tradition and ideals of Gothic architecture. The plans received strong resistance from the community and from some University officials, who felt it was too tall for the city.
Local legend states that to counteract this resistance Bowman ordered that the construction of the walls would start at the top floor and work their way down, so the project could not be canceled. Actually, this was practical, as the exterior walls are not load bearing in skyscrapers. This means that they do not hold weight, so the walls can be built at any time. Building the top walls first allows for ease of movement of materials and equipment during the construction.
It is thought by some that the Cathedral of Learning was dubbed "The Learning Tower of Pisaburgh" which is a reference to the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy
Funding
Fundraising for this project came in many forms, including donations from industries, corporations individuals, and foreign governments. To raise public views of the Cathedral, and at the same time finance the construction, Bowman started a fundraising campaign in 1925.
An important part of this campaign was a project reaching out to the children of the city entitled "Buy a Brick for Pitt". Each schoolchild sent a dime ($0.10) and a letter to the University, explaining how they earned the dime for the building. In exchange, the child received a certificate for one brick contained in the Cathedral. A total of 97,000 certificates were issued to children.
Nationality rooms
The Cathedral is home to 26 nationality rooms (twenty-four working classrooms and two display rooms), on the first and third floors. Each nationality room is designed to celebrate a different culture that had an influence on Pittsburgh's growth. There are currently seven rooms in the process of being approved and funded. Virtual Tours of the existing rooms are available on the Nationality Rooms official site [3] (http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/)/
Bowman decided that he wanted to involve the community as much as he could in constructing the Cathedral, so he proposed that each nationality that had a significant number of people in Pittsburgh would be allowed to design their nationality's room for the Cathedral. Each group had to form a Room Committee, which would be responsible for all fundraising, designing, and acquistion. The University provided only the room, while all other materials, labor, and design were provided by the individual committees. These were sometimes provided by foreign governments which, "...responded with generous support, often providing architects, artists, materials, and monetary gifts to assure authenticity and superb quality in their classrooms."[4] (http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/pages/about_nr.html)
A typical room on the 1st floor (those built between 1938 and the 1960s) took between three and ten years to complete, and cost the equivalent of 300,000 US Dollars today. More recent rooms have cost in the range of 500,000 US Dollars.
A second plan was proposed to create rooms modeled after each era of American history. These would primarily be on the third floor. Although the plans for the series of rooms were drawn up, only one room in the group was made, now known as the Early American room.
Set in the Cathedral of Learning's cornerstone in 1937, is this gift from the Nationality Room Committee chairpersons to the University: A copper plate engraved with these thoughts:
- Faith and peace are in their hearts. Good will has brought them together. Like the Magi of ancestral traditions and the shepherds of candid simplicity, they offer their gifts of what is precious, genuine and their own, to truth that shines forever and enlightens all people.[5] (http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/pages/about_nr.html)
Since 1944 tours of the nationality rooms have been given to visitors by Quo Vadis (meaning Where do you go?); they guide over 30,000 tourists a year.
Quick trivia
- The largest room is the British room, and the smallest the Irish room.
- The first four rooms to be dedicated were the Scottish, Russian, German, and Swedish rooms in 1938. The newest room is the Indian room, dedicated in 2000.
- The heaviest room is the Armenian room, weighing 22 tons. The second floor underneath the room was reinforced so that it could support the weight.
Display rooms
- Early American (3rd floor) -- this room contains a hidden upper floor, accessed via a staircase behind the room's fire place.
- Syrian-Lebanon
Classrooms
- African Heritage (3rd floor)
- Armenian (3rd floor)
- Austrian (3rd floor)
- Chinese
- Czechoslovak
- English
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hungarian
- Indian (3rd floor)
- Irish
- Israeli Heritage (3rd floor)
- Italian
- Japanese (3rd floor)
- Lithuanian
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Romanian
- Russian
- Scottish
- Swedish
- Ukrainian (3rd floor)
- Yugoslav
Proposed rooms
- Danish
- Filipino
- Latin American
- Swiss
- Turkish
- Welsh
Commons room
The main part of the Cathedral's first floor is the Commons room, a Gothic-style hall that covers half an acre (2,000 m²) and extends upwards four stories, reaching 52 ft (16 m) tall. The room was a gift of Andrew Mellon and is a completely freestanding construction, apart from the Cathedral itself. It is a piece of true Gothic architecture; no steel supports were used in the construction of its arches. Each arch is a true arch, and they support their own weight. Each base for the arches weighs five tons, and it is said that they are so firmly placed that each could hold a large truck.
This perfection was insisted upon by Chancellor Bowman. The architect, Klauder, objected due to the increased costs of this construction method. Bowman responded with the comment: "You cannot build a great University with fraud in it."
Joseph Gattoni designed the stonework, much of which depicts western Pennsylvania plant life. The walls are made of Indiana limestone and the floor is green Vermont slate.
The wrought iron in the room, including the large gates leading to the elevators, were a gift from George Hubbard Clapp, and were designed by the ironworker Samuel Yellin. Over the gates are two lines from Robert Bridges' "14 Founders Day. A Secular Ode on the Ninth Jubilee of Eaton College:" "Here is eternal spring. For you the very stars of heaven are new."
The Croghan-Schenely Ballroom
The Croghan-Schenely room is situated on the first floor of the Cathedral. Built in 1835, the room was originally part of a house in the area known as Stanton Heights, in Pittsburgh.
Those with money in Western Pennsylvania during the 1830s were fascinated with Greek Revival architecture. This room is part of an addition added to William Croghan Jr.'s house during that time. His daughter, Mary Elizabeth, went to boarding school in New York, but at the age of fifteen eloped with 43-year-old Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenely, a captain in the British military. Mary would not visit often, and in an effort to convince her family to move to Pittsburgh, the new rooms were commissioned.
Sources
- Nationality Rooms Guide Training Material
- "The Cathedral of Learning: Concept, Design, Construction" - Mark Brown, University of Pittsburgh Nationality Rooms Program
- "Unofficial Notes" - John G. Bowman
- University of Pittsburgh Website [6] (http://www.umc.pitt.edu:16080/tour/tour-080.html)[7] (http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/pages/about_nr.html)