Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-23
Beautiful University
Buildings Are
Shattered
Magnificent Memorial
Chapel Riven by
Temblor
Structures Adorned the Campus.
ShapeIess Mass Of Stone Marks
Site Of Quadrangle

The first arrivals from Stanford uni
versity tell pitiful story of the awful
havoc wrought by the earthquake upon
the beautiful buildings of that great
institution. What was one week ago
considered one of the finest universities
in the country, with the most pictur-
esque campus to be seen anywhere
west of the Mississippi, is today a
complete wreck, a confused mass of
stones and timbers shaken down by
the upheaval of Tueday night
When the shock came the students
were awakened from sleep by the
breaking of the pictures and decora-
tions in their rooms, and when fully
aroused they We're startled by the
crash of falling buildings around them
Immediately after the shock, which
lasted forty-eight seconds, the students
began to pour out from the dormitories
and fraternity houses. The sight which
met their eyes will never be forgotten
On every hand, where but a few
minutes before had been the most
beautiful structures, appeared desola~
tion and ruin.
Robey Hall Is Ruined
The magnificent memorial arch at
the entrance to the campus was nothing
but huge pile of stone, seemingly
tossed into the air and allowed to fall
where it might.
The new library, erected at an ex-
pense of $2.0OO0O0 and the great gym
nasium, both of which were to have
been dedicated at commencement time,
were a tumbled mass of ruins
So complete was the destruction that
scarcely one stone was left upon an
other. Robley hall, the home of the
girls, was so shaken that two stories
in the front part fell into the lower
floors, completely wrecking all that part
of the hall. The rest of the dormitory
was SO cracked and twisted that it
was considered unsafe for the girls to
remain there after the shock.
1t happened that the part of the
building which fell was taken up by
the parlors of the house, so than none
of the girls were injured. The boys
dormitory was even more torn up than
the girls hall. The massive chimneys
which occupied the entire center of the
building were shaken from their
foundation and fell upon the roof Their
great weight carried down with them
the entire central portion of the hall
which fell to the cellar beneath
Two of the men who were quartered
in that part of the building were
killed and six more were injured. All
were more or less shaken up and it is
wonder that anyone escaped.
What caused the most grief to the
students and will be most keenly felt
by those who have once visited the uni
verslty, was the destruction of the
memorial chapel probably the most
beautiful building of it's kind in the
world The whole chapel was utterly
ruined and nothing now remains to
mark its site but a great heap of TIM
bers and scattered stones. The ex-
quisite mosaic work on the exterior and
interior portraying various Bible scenes,
which were the wonder and admiration
of all who beheld them, were shattered
beyond redemption and not trace of
them remains.
The quadrangle is the only structure
left standing and it is expected that it
may collapse at any moment.
The keystone of every arch was
loosened by the shock, and should these
stones give way the whole arch which
depends on them will be sure to go.
The university will open next fall at
the usual time, and it is hoped that
most Of the buildings will be restored
and ready for use then.