Cathedral of Learning Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Cathedral of Learning is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at 525 feet (160 m) and forty-two stories tall, it is the second tallest educational building in the world (the tallest is the main building at Moscow State University in Russia). It was commisioned in 1921 and finished in 1937. 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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2 History 3 Funding 4 Nationality Rooms 5 Quick Trivia 6 Commons Room 7 The Croghan-Schenely Ballroom 8 Sources |
The basement through floor thirty-six are used for educational purposes ranging 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], is housed. Additionally, the University Honors College is located on the 36th floor. Floors 37-42 are closed off to the general public, and are only used rarely. Originally they housed accounting departments, but are now currently used as ballrooms and dining rooms for special events.
His reasoning is summerized 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. Building the top walls first allows for ease of movement of materials and construction equipment during the construction.
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 (United States dollar.10) and a letter to the University, explaining how they earned the dime for the building. In exchange, the child recieved a certificate for one brick contained in the Cathedral. 97,000 certificates were issued to children.
The Cathedral is home to 26 nationality rooms (24 working classrooms and 2 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 before building is begun.
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 amount of people in Pittsburgh would be allowed to design a room for the Cathedral. Each group had to form a Room Committee, who 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.
A typical room on the 1st floor (those built between 1938 and the 1960's) took between 3 and 10 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.
The main part of the first floor of the Cathedral is the Commons room, a Gothic 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 actually a completely separate construction 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 support 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."Usage
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, and began to envision what would be called the Cathedral of learningFunding
Fundraising for this project came in many forms, including donations from industries, corporations, and individuals. To raise public views of the Cathedral, and at the same time finance the construction, Bowman started a fundraising campaign in 1925. Nationality Rooms
Quick Trivia
Display Rooms
Classrooms
Proposed Rooms
Commons Room