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Beauty and the Beast

READERS SOUND OFF ON CAMPUS ARCHITECTURE

Ed. Note: At the end of our "Building Boom" cover story (May/June 2005), we asked readers: "What's the most beautiful building on the Cornell campus? What's the ugliest?" A sample of the responses:

MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING: URIS Library/McGraw Tower--a classic. There's a reason why it is probably the most photographed building on campus. Ugliest building: Johnson Museum. This building is a scar on East Hill. The fact that one gets spectacular views from the building does not excuse the

David Berger '83
Denville, New Jersey

FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDing on campus, taking into account interior as well as exterior, I would nominate Goldwin Smith Hall. As the ugliest, Olin Library--especially because it replaced Boardman Hall, an absolutely gorgeous building that also provided continuity from Stimson Hall to Uris Library.

Brook Whitman '97
New York, New York

BEAUTY: A TIE BETWEEN MCGRAW Tower and Sage Hall; the tower is Cornell, and Sage is really different--sort of like an expressionist painting reminding one of years past. Ugliest: Also a tie, between Uris Hall, with its rusty steel beams, and Ives Hall, which looks like a prison.

Harry Merker '51
Las Vegas, Nevada

MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING: SAGE HALL. Ugliest building, not including Rand Hall, as it is going to be demolished: Uris Hall. I know the history, and it grew on me during my fours years at Cornell, but I never did get used to the rust dripping down the sides of its black metal exterior.

Kris Grossman '04
New York, New York

BEAUTY: A TOSS-UP AMONG THE ORIginal buildings on the Arts Quad, but if I have to choose one, I'll choose the old libe and clock tower. Beast: Again, a toss-up-- Olin Library vs. Johnson Museum.

Ronni Schulbaum Strell '58
West Orange, New Jersey

BEAUTY: MYRON TAYLOR HALL. BEAST: Uris Hall. I love Cornell's campus, but some of the buildings are hideous. I think I speak for the majority of undergraduates when I say that we want more beautiful old Ivy-ish buildings like Willard Straight or Myron Taylor and less modern ugliness like Uris, the low rises on North Campus, and virtually every red-brick near-windowless monstrosity.

Rob Jones '08
Scranton, Pennsylvania

BEAUTIES: BALCH HALL, THE WEST Campus Gothics, Barton Hall, Duffield Hall, Myron Taylor, Anabel Taylor, Lincoln Hall,White Hall (really happy with the refurbishing), Sage Chapel, Kroch Library, Uris Library, Schoellkopf Field and Stadium, Olive Tjaden, the Statler.

Beasts: the Low Rise Residences (LR6, LR7, Ujaama), Uris Hall, Olin Library, Helen Newman, Stocking, Space Sciences Building, Earth Sciences Building, Bradfield.

Beauties, but in need of some T.L.C.: Willard Straight Hall (needs a lot of cleaning,more lighting in the entryway); Risley Hall (dire need of landscaping, fixing the pavement or returning to the classic brick out front, lighting in hallways, cleaning the dining hall); Goldwin Smith (as the centerpiece of Arts and Sciences, it needs lots of cleanup from redoing seating to better lighting to more wiring for multimedia); Rockefeller Hall (love the new auditorium and the Asian Studies wing, but many of the classrooms are in fairly bad shape).

Nate Beach-Westmoreland '07
Amherst, Massachusetts

Oops . . . Missed One

I ENJOYED YOUR STORY ON THE MANY significant construction projects on campus, but was disappointed that the Cornell University Hospital for Animals and the Veterinary Medical Center, both of which opened in 1996, and related renovations at the College of Veterinary Medicine were left out. At the time of the dedication, we were told that the cost of this College of Veterinary Medicine project--about $90 million--constituted the largest building project undertaken to date by the State University Construction Fund.

Bonita Voiland
Assistant Dean for Hospital Operations
College of Veterinary Medicine
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Ed. Note: We regret the omission.

Back to the Hot Truck

"HOT TRUCKIN' " BY JANE AND MIchael Stern (Currents, May/June 2005) brought back many memories. When I entered Cornell as a freshman in 1966, both the Hot and Cold trucks were fixtures on Stewart Avenue behind the University Halls. Noyes Center was still under construction, so the only nearby food service was the cafeteria in the basement of U-Hall 6--affectionately known as the Barf Bar--and it was open only at mealtimes. Late at night, we would keep an eye out for anyone putting on a coat, to see if he was making a run to the trucks.

About twenty years after I graduated, I returned to Ithaca on business and arrived at my hotel too late for dinner. I decided to drive to campus and was surprised to find the Hot Truck parked in its usual spot, even though it was summer-- and Bob Petrillose was still there, serving the menu described by the Sterns.

Richard Amacher '70
Rochester Hills, Michigan

Rhodes Work

IN "THE WINNER'S CIRCLE" (MAY/JUNE 2005), nowhere do you mention that Cecil Rhodes established the Rhodes scholarships for outstanding scholars who are also outstanding athletes. I cannot understand that now they are only for the "greasy grinds." It seems that charisma upon meeting the professors is all you need to get a scholarship.

John Hooley '38, MD '42
Merritt Island, Florida

Rebel Brother

THE ARTICLE "URBANE REBEL" BY Brad Herzog '90 (Currents, March/April 2005) failed to mention that Franchot Tone '27 was a brother in Alpha Delta Phi. Your readers can learn more about Tone at: www.adphicornell.org/adphicor/Archives/1950s.htm.

Howie Schaffer '90
Takoma Park, Maryland

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