Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-06-14
IMPOSING CEREMONIES
Continued from First Page

AAN tutu LOT HlpAtns rs SAatAcICu
galleries and roofless halls, 10 winds
abandoned and to prying stars, re
NAMED; a sad reminder Of the building
so many of US had loved. Pelting storms
took the place of its throngs of students;
the wind was the Organist in IFS chapel
and desolation grieved the eye on every
side
The question Immediately arose,
''what is 10 be done?' Shall we effaee
the old building completely and erect a
modern structure: or shall we endeavor
TO reconstruct the old one9 Experienced
architects and builders were called in
from various cities, after the ruins had
been cleared their reports agreed in
saying that the walls, both exterior and
interior, were sound, with comparatively
small EXCEPTIONS; and that the building
could be completely restored within forty
thousand dollars.
We were fortunate both in our ulti-
mate choice of the architects, Messrs.
Baldwin & Pennington, and of the
builder, Mr. John Waters; they had
had much experience in such restoration
work, particularly after the great fire in
Baltimore. few years ago.
Under our form of contract with the
builder, while the cost Of the building
rs planned was not TO exceed 9,7S7,
in any event; yet we were to be given
he benefit of whatever could be saved
on that amount through competitive bids
of suhcontractors To carry out this
provisions, the contractor agreed to fur
nish monthly statements of the cost of
the labor and material used during the
preceding month, adding ten per cent.
thereto as his commission or profit !:
these statements were to be passed upon
By the architects and paid by us from
month 10 month as the work progressed.
The contractor guaranteed that the
whole cost would not exceed $50, 1877 /;
under this arrangement it might be con
siderahly less As "A matter of fact. there
was more than $4,000 saved on that out
side figure. SO far as the builder s con
tract was concerned Indeed, even after
paving the architects full commissions
and many matters not included in the
builder 5 contract; such as electric light
ing fixtures throughout the building; new
auditorium chairs for the main hall {;
slabs of slate for blackboards in all the
recitation rooms extra floors in the base
ment; an expensive but most important
change in the stairway; a waiting room
for the President s office, and various
partitions and wafer fixtures; none of
which were included in the builder s con
tract; we are yet more than thirty seven
hunderd dollars within the limit amount
mentioned; for the entire cost of the
building is 36,O1615,-ineluding all
those additional items. We have a much
better building than the old one, in many
particulars; although in only two import
ant features have its original plans been
departed from One of these was in the
design of the stairway and the other was
in dispensing with the columns of the
chapel
eve hesitated a good deal about both
Of these changes, but think we made no
mistake in either The former long,
straight flights of stepts were very ugly,
tiresome and dangerous; the present
staircase is a great Improvement in all
these respects. The former columns,
which supported the gallery, obscured
vision and materially diminished the
available floor space Of the chapel; the
gallery is now supported by cantilever-
beams and the chapel thus cleared of OBJ
stwetions
We believe also that no mistake was
made by the Board of Visitors and Gov
ernors in its decision of the main ques-
tion in retaining the old structure and
rebuilding on the old lines and plans.
For, aside from the very material sal
wage in the money saved by so doing,
they regarded it from the beginning al
most rs a sacred duty so to do, if it were
practically possible Personally, | know
that | feel more strongly on that point
than many OF my colleagues on the
Board for | have a deep love and ven
GRAFTON for these old walls. 1t has been
my fortune. as Chairman of the Building
Committees, TO superintend the construe-
ton of four buildings on this campus
Woodward Hall. Senior Hall, the new
Gymnasium and now Mcdowell Hall; and
| can truly say that in winding up for
those committees respectively the ac-
counts of our stewardship, the last men
toned has the first place in the satisfae-
ton 1t has afforded me- For we believe
that with the walls of this restored but
ancient edifiee, we have preserved and
retained, as could have been done in no
other way, the memories and associations
connected with it and with those who
have gone out from it.
They have breathing influence
there,
4 charm, not elsewhere found;
sad, yet il sanctifes the air,
The walls. the ground
I'm his Seven Lamps of Architec-
ture'. The Lamp of Memory, Ruskin
truly says of Architecture: We may live
without her and worship without her, but
we cannot well remember without her.
How cold is all history, how lifeless i'm