The San Francisco call., 1896-04-29
Regents of the University Meet
to Discuss Permanent
Plans.
FAME OF. THE LANDSCAPE.
Renowned Architects Of the World
May Be Invited to Enter the Field
of Competition.

The Board of Regents of the University
of California met at the Mark Hopkins In
stitute of Art yesterday afternoon to con-
slider q harmonious and comprehensive
scheme for the future construction of uni
versty buildings at Berkeley.
The proposition is not altogether new,
as Regents Martin, Hallidie, Wallace,
Houghton, Rodgers and others have had
it in mind for many years, and resolu-
ton was adopted some years ago holding
that future buildings should be grouped
in harmony about grand central struc-
ture.
In this particular line Of duty ]. B.
Reinstein has been exceedingly active since
his appointment to the position of regent
and his fellow-members on the board COM
mend his enterprise. He suggested some
weeks ago that the board hold a special
session to consider this subject and accord
ingly the meeting was appointed for Tues
day, April 2S.
The members present yesterday were
Regents Phelps, John E. Budd, Marye.
Hallidie, Miller, Denicke, Martin, Wallace
Houghton, Kellogg, Rodgers, Reinstein
and Secretary Bonte.
At the beginning of the session an Off
cial communication was read, stating that
c. NJ. Chase had been re- elected president
of the State Agricultural Society for the
ensuing year. By virtue of this Office Mr..
Chase is a regent of the University.
President Kellogg announced that Mr..
Howe, professor of botany, had resigned
The resignation, to take effect Nav Is.
was accepted.
B. II. Sherman resigned his Office as
clerk OF the recorder, and H. H. Overstreet
was appointed to fill the vacancy.
w. NJ. Hart, instructor of English, was
granted leave of absence without loss of
pay. The time limit OF his railroad ticket
is about to expire and he must travel now
or never.
When Mr.. Reinstein began to speak OF
the future glory and possible grandeur of
the university, Regent Phelps, who had
been called to the chair as the presiding
officer, looked with dismay at the formida-
BILE documentary works behind which the
new Regent was so strongly intrenched
Other Regents assumed attitudes of re-
pose, and Mr.. Reinstein began. Nothing
disturbed the serenity of the session in
the slightest manner until $50 P NJ, when
a quick tremor of the earth shook the
Mark Hopkins building. The shock did
not disconcert Mr.. Reinstein to the degree
of a punctuationg point.
Uumoved by the seismic disturbance he
smoke eloquently of glorious architectural
piles and read letters from renowned
architects and high-salaried college presi-
dents to show how exalting to the human
mind and how necessary to the formation
OF human character were visible examples
OF great achievements in architecture.
Mr.. Reinstein made his advance on
three lines:
Flrst-ls grand plan desirable?
Second-Is the time ripe2
Third-Are the means available?
Mr.. Rainstein held that failure at the
present time to adopt q general plan would
be serious. The enormous growth of the
university within the past few years had
made actual house-room necessary. The
last Legislature recognized this fact. and
surely the next Legislature would grant
an appropriation equal to that allowed at
the last session. He said:
1--WE have been building up the univer-
sity on the hand-to-mouth principle. It
Is high time that we should abandon this
policy and provide permanent system of
expansion because the greatness of the
university is now foreshadowed."
Mr.. Relnstein took the broad ground
that the architectural plans should be the
subject OF international com petition. Not
only the leading architects OF America.
out the leaders In that profession of Eng
land, France and Germany should be
invited TO enter the field. For exampIe
$4,000 should be set aside for obtaining
plans; ten architects invited to send in
preliminary plans should each receive
$500. When plan is accepted the archi-
tects should plan for buildings as the
structures are desired. To what extent
existing buildings could be utilized and
preserved in general harmonious plan
was yet an open QUESTION.
Charles Elliott Norton of Harvard was
quoted as saying that it might become
advisable to tear down all the buildings
now on the ground.
Mr.. Reinstein also quoted from Presi-
dent Elliott of Harvard, who had said that
within the lifetime of people to whom he
was then talking there would be but three
great universities in the United States
one at Cambridge, one in Chicago and one
in California.
The regent said nothing about President
EiilOtI Well-knOWn naElt or talking
through his, tile. Perhaps he assumed
that his fellow-regents knew of Eliott's
performances in orally perforating
chapeau.
Architect Howe of World Fair celebrity
was quoted. Howe is helping the Ameri-
can Episcopal University to spend s1o,-
100000 on a college scheme in Washing
ton. He thought for time that the
Washington site was the grandest on the
globe for display of architectural genius,
but when he came to California and saw
the glory OF the Berkeley landscape he
threw up his hands and said this was
surely the most beautiful site on earth.
Mr.. Reinstein read letters from a great
many college lights. Among his cor
respondents were the presidents respec-
lively Of Yale, Michigan, Cornell, Virginia
Johns Hopkins, Columbia and other uni.
versities.
A bout 4 o'clock in the afternoon Judge
Wallace asked ifit would not be necessary
for architects to understand what build |
ings would be first required.
Mr.. Reinstein explained that Mr.. May |