The Yale expositor., 1909-04-16
ROW o. Qll4O AzToRE QllAAE

front o. CZI7D AEFONE TA>4HE
In the spring of 1906 the last of the
great buildings of Stanford university
were rapidly nearing completion, since
the laying of the cornerstone in 1887.
the work of construction had been
practically unceasing. First came the
inner quadrangle, upon the completion
of which the university was formally
opened to the public. Then the outer
quadrangle, an imposing array oil
buildings.
The two architectural triumphs of
the university, however, were those
which marked the front and center of
the quadrangles-the Memorial Arch
and the Memorial Church. The for
mer, rising 100 feet above the en-
trance to the quadrangles, and bearing
the heroic frieze by st. Gaudens por-
traying the Progress of Civilization
in America" was a memorial to Le-
land Stanford, JT., whose name is per-
petuated in that of the university.
The church, the most wonderful struc-
luIt vi It's III was
erected by Mrs. Stanford, as the
legend above it's doors stated. ITO
the glory of God and in loving mem
DRY of my husband, Leland Stanford"
And then in the gray dawn of that
memorable April Is. 1906. the campus
writhed and shuddered in the grip of
the terrific earthquake, and the splen-
did buildings which had cost years of
time and millions of money TO con.
struct were ruthlessly shattered in a
moment.
Comparatively little has been pub
lished, however, concerning the work
of reconstruction which has since
been steadily going forward. Inquiries
are constantly made as to the extent
to which reconstruction has been ac-
complished, and also as to the pres.
ent condition of various buildings.
For the benefit of those who have
not been able to gain definite informa-
ton concerning the present condition
of the university, the following facts
are presented.
The earthquake was on Wednesday.
April IS, at a few minutes past FIVE
in the morning. BY nine o'clock a
notice was posted on the bulletin
boards, signed by President Jordan.
stating that all university work would
be suspended until Friday morning, in
order that the engineering experts
might examine and report upon the
condition ~ tho dopoooad h,,,Idg,, -.
When Friday morning came, 1t was
announced that the damage was So
far-reaching that no more work would
be attempted that semester, but that
the fall term would open in August as
usual. Students were accordingly dis
missed to their homes, and the recon.
struction of Stanford was begun, un-
der the direction of commission Of
engineers.
The architecture of the university
had been of two main types. The
quadrangles were an adaptation of the
California mission architecture, hav-
ing wide arcades, paved courts. and
low. tiled roofs. or these buildings.
which contained practically all the
class rooms of the university. those in
the outer quadrangle suffered the
most damage, since they were all
more than one story In height. None
of them, however. were injured be-
yond repair, and to them the author
tiles first turned their attention. All
of these buildings are now completely
restored, the last step in the recon.
struction being the placing of fire
proof roof upon the Thomas Welton
library building. situated in the right
half OF the principal facade. This
building, which was TO have been
made the law library upon the com
pletion OF the new building. will now
be used as the general library for
some years to come.
Several additional buildings have
been constructed since the earthquake.
most of them being devoted to the
engineering and woodworking depart
ments. These have been placed near
the other engineering buildings in the
rear OF the outer quadrangle.