In
his dedication speech for the new library
addition, Charles
Collens remarked, “Fortunately
for Mount Holyoke College, the buildings which
surround the campus have a strong Collegiate
Gothic tendency so that there never was any
question in our minds as to what this building
should look like.”…An argument
from modern advocates is that one type of architecture
in a group tends to monotony. Even though Collegiate
Gothic is the prevailing type at Mount Holyoke,
there is so much variation in the individual
treatment of mass and detail as to give sufficient
diversity to the group. We are somewhat strong
advocates of Collegiate Gothic, if it is not
carried to extremes in what might be called “over-artiness”.
When used simply, it has a flexibility which
the Classical and Colonial styles, with their
formal and balanced composition, do not admit”
(19).
After
a discussion regarding the diversity of Gothic
Design with one of my favorite MHC art history
professors, he
commented “Gothic
architecture on our campus is varied. The chapel,
for example, would be Early English in style
with simple pointed lancet windows and rather
muscular walls. Shattuck, on the other hand,
incorporates the later (14th century) Decorated
Style, recognizable by the elaborate double
curving patterns of tracery in the windows”.
Collegiate Gothic architecture plays an important
part in the historical landscape of the Mount
Holyoke Campus. These beautiful, robust buildings
are the “ties that bind” our landscape
with a sense of history that began with the
dream of Mary Lyon and her seminary.
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
