Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/505

LATER BUILDINGS OF THE FIRST QUARTER-CENTURY 441 construction of the building was authorized on February 4, 1914' The contract was let to Wells Brothers Co. Ground was broken November 19, 1914, and the cornerstone was laid April 18, 1915, by Mr. Noyes, in the presence of an enthusiastic throng of Trustees, professors, alumni, students, and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Noyes. Mrs. Judson was to have assisted in this ceremony, but illness prevented her presence. After an introductory statement by the President, Dean Marion Talbot delivered the address. In concluding she said : I speak not only for myself but for all the women of the University when I assure you, Mr. Noyes, and you, Mr. President, that this cornerstone means a mighty impulse toward the truly great things of life. Here self-discovery and self-control will lead to social co-operation and mutual understanding. The weak will learn from the strong and the strong will learn from the weak. Tolerance, sympathy, kindness, the generous word and the helpful act, all typical of the woman we commemorate, will be the contribution of the women who go forth from Ida Noyes Hall to take part in the upbuilding of the new civilization which is to come. Ida Noyes Hall was not a single building, but a group of build- ings, combining the facilities provided for the men by the Frank Dickinson Bartlett Gymnasium, the Reynolds Club, and Hutchin- son Commons. It was more domestic in feeling than the other buildings, giving the general effect of a great Tudor house. It was located on Fifty-ninth Street, between Woodlawn and Kim- bark avenues, and had a frontage on the Midway Plaisance of two hundred and forty feet. From the middle of the main structure the gymnasium extended a hundred and ten feet to the north, making the total depth of the building one hundred and sixty feet. The structure for the swimming pool extended west from the north end of the gymnasium. The building covered an area of thirty- one thousand square feet. In the basement were lockers, dressing- rooms, showers, a large game-room, and two bowling alleys. An extension from the north side of the east wing provided offices, storage room, and facilities for service in connection with the refectory. The refectory itself, in the east whig, was a room eighty-nine by forty-four feet and twenty-eight feet high, and seated three hundred persons. To the west of the main hall, and up a few steps was the Common Room, and beyond this was the