Princeton
hired
Ralph Adams Cram, the Yale-trained architect
who would become the “high
priest” of Collegiate Gothic, to serve
as the University's consulting architect from
1907 to 1929. During that time Ralph Cram,
a scholar of medieval Gothic architecture,
built Princeton’s Gothic chapel with
a clear understanding of its towering spires
and elaborate carvings. (6)
In his choice of architectural designs,
Cram knew the importance of calling
attention to
religion’s constancy and ethics at
Princeton and in civilization.
"By
building in the Collegiate Gothic style,” he
wrote, “Princeton
was committed to the retention for all time
of that collegiate style of architecture which
alone is absolutely expressive of the civilization
we hold in common with England and the ideals
of liberal education now firmly fixed at Princeton.” (7)
Incidentally,
the architect worked alone in his designs
for the Cathedral of Saint John
the Divine, in New York City’s upper
West side. His goal was to build the largest
cathedral and largest Gothic structure in the
world. To this day it remains unfinished
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
