ratories have been heretofore confied to the
basement of the main building,
The Main Building is a plain structure of
magnesian limestone, two hundred and forty
feet in length, eighty feet in average breadth
and five stories in height. The building is
heated by steam and lighted by incandescent
electric lights,
The halls, in general are broad, cheerful,
well lighted aud tastefully finished, a fact
that will be appreciated by visiting Alumni,
who remember the old, narrow and dark ones,
The old, narrow stairways have also
vanished in these, our prosperous days, and
now on each side of the main entrance, a
nicely carved ash wood square spiral staircase
winds its way to the fifth floor, lighted on
each floor by the openings afforded by two
large windows, This building contains the
chapel, library, society halls, drawing-rooms,
dormitories, class rooms and cabinets. The
new chapel, which occupies what was the first
and second floors of the central wing, is a fine
auditorium, having a large gallery, sloping
floors, an ample stage, six hundred and fifty
opera chairs and tasteful decorations. The
college library, consisting of 4,500 volumes,
is on the third floor in the central portion of
the building. The Washington and Cresson
Literary Societies occupy the fifth floor of the
central wing, with reading rooms and halls,
which are handsomely furnished. The dor
mitories are on the third, fourth and fifth
floors. The general drawing-room is on the
third floor of the central wing, as are also the
civil and mechanical engineering rooms.. The
mineral cabinet is on the fourth floor of the
central wing.
The Botanical Laboratory is a neat and
firm structure of two stories, fifty-three
feet in width, with a battered-stone base and
brick superstructure. This contains class
rooms,, laboratory, offices and the botanical
and zoological museums. Greenhouses stand
in the rear of the building, which is within
THE FREE LANCE.
seventy yards of the Main Building and
directly back of the west wing. A large plot
of grass to the front and rear of this building
is laid out in numerous flower beds and walks,
making this one of the most beautiful parts
of the campus.
The Chemical and Physical building con
tains, as its name signifies, the chemical and
physical laboratories. The building is of two
and-a-half stories, one hundred and forty feet
in length and about eighty feet average width,
built of brick, with limestone trimmings. It
is situated on the north campus within a hun
dred yards of the Main Building, and con
tains, in addition to all rooms necessary for
experiments and laboratories, lecture rooms,
libraries and offices. The two departments
are separated by a twenty inch wall, so as in
no way to cause interference with each de
partment’s experiments. These laboratories
are modeled after the ones at Yale and Cor
nell, with such improvements as were sug
gested, and are superior to any in the State.
The armory, or Assembly Hall is a fine
massive structure, built of brick and Ohio
limestone, roofed with slate, the peak of
the roof being seventy-five feet above the
floor and supported by iron trusses. A tower
rises beyond the peak at the south corner.
The main entrance is fourteen feet in width,
and leads into the main assembly room, which
is one hundred and twenty feet in length and
eighty feet in width, having a seating capacity
of 2,000, a large stage with dressing rooms
each side, and a gallery directly over the main
entrance. Wash and toilet rooms, gun rooms,
a reception room and the commandant’s office
are near the main entrance. The dead floor
makes it excellent as an armory, and it will
make a grand place for balls, when our trus
tees lose some of their fossilized ideas. This
is also to be used as our gymnasium; the ap
paratus will be so arranged that it can be
drawn to the ceiling by means of pulleys
when necessrry, and .baths are to be placed
beneath the stage, Twelve hundred dollars