The planners submitted sketches
of proposed buildings designed in Collegiate
Gothic style,
which included an expansion of Williston Library
and a building site for the new Chapel. The
proposed Gothic chapel was to be located near
lower lake with a bridge running across the
water, rendering a pleasing reflection of the
chapel. Its tower was massive and reached up
the sky in an elegant spire. Shurtleff compared
the new chapel design to the Princeton University
chapel, which would assume a powerful presence
in the community.
Williston Library’s expansion plans resembled
a sanctuary or a citadel for military defense
holding people rather than books inside its
portals. It
lacked a feminine quality or a welcoming feeling that seemed unsuitable for a
prestigious women’s college. The modified Gothic towers of the building
would relate to Shurtleff’s theory of a unified skyline within the academic
quadrangles. The designers envisioned harmony in the structures by using complimentary
architectural lines that would not clash and skylines in agreeable relationship
to each other.
For
More Information on Shurtleff and Cram
Home
Page
The
History of Gothic Architecture:
Cambridge
and Princeton
About Ralph Cram
A Time of Transition:
Bryn
Mawr
Mary E.
Woolley
Frederick
Olmsted Jr.
The Envisioned Plan:
Program for
Campus Development
Designs
for the Library and Chapel
Shurtleff
and Cram Present Their Ideas
The Implemented Plan:
Meetings
and Discussions
Collens'
Library Designs(Exterior)
Collens'
Library Designs (Interior)
Bertha
Blakely's Influence
Abbey Memorial
Chapel
Charles Collens
Dedication Speech and closing comments
Trivial Pursuit
Question
References
