Princeton Tour (Cont'd)

4. Alexander Hall: Romanesque (1892)

History: In the fifteenth century, "Gothic" was a contemptuous label applied at random to Romanesque architecture. But in the nineteenth century, with the flourishing of the Romantic movement, there was a revolt against a lack of interest in previous periods. There was a desire to seek out what neo-classicism spurred. The irrational innocence and grotesque imaginativeness of Romanesque architecture and sculpture was rediscovered, resulting in a fresh attachment to the past. Romanesque and Gothic were now considered the religious styles par excellence. Alexander Hall is a classic example of Romanesque revival. Note the two large towers, sculpture, use of mosaic and stained glass windows, plus the use of various colored stones called polychromy.

Biology: Walk toward Alexander Hall from the south. The tree in the middle is a linden. Its leaves are broad and the base lobes are not even. If you study the stone fresco on the south wall of the building, you will find three different birds, depicted because of certain emotions or characteristics their images evoke: an owl, a dove, and an eagle. Notice the lower right picture. A leek, complete with root system is being held up, perhaps to be used for a medicinal concoction. Several ornamental plants are found growing profusely along the east wall. Azaleas and a large magnolia tree provide beautiful, showy, spring blooms. The gymnosperms on the west side of the building present their seeds in small cones, not within flower structures. Gymnosperm means "naked seed."

Mathematics: Alexander Hall has four towers placed at its corners. What geometric shapes were used to create the towers? Compare the sizes of the towers. A front window contains many circles. How many can you find?

On the back of the building there are some windows, placed high above parts of the roof, that contain many green lines. How many different sizes of squares can you find in the patterns? What is unusual about the arrangement of some of the squares?

East of Alexander Hall you will pass a bronze sculpture by Sir Henry Moore. Looking at the interior, what number is formed? What number is formed by the exterior?

5. Chancellor Green Hall: Ruskinian Gothic (1873)

History: John Ruskin, an English architectural critic and social reformer very influential in the Neo-Gothic movement, saw in the Neo-Gothic form an ideal for a working-class society. For him the Gothic was the ideal style and the medieval craftsman was a superb artist. He thought that the medieval past was preferable to the sooty corruption of the nineteenth century, although by the late nineteenth century technology was influencing the architectural world. For instance, the use of cast iron was replacing wrought iron for building construction. If you enter Chancellor Green Hall, once the campus library, you will find a wonderful open space with ornamental iron railing topped by an octagonal stained glass window.

Biology: The vegetation of this building is similar to other areas that you have seen before you walk west through the building and are greeted by a grand deodar cedar in the southwest corner to your right.

Mathematics: Notice the patterns in the color and design of the stained glass window in the ceiling. Are the patterns repeated? The balcony railing also has some beautiful patterns.

On your way to the Chapel, stop in the courtyard of East Pyne. In the pavement, a compass is drawn in the interior of a circle which is surrounded by an octagon. The value of ¶ is determined by dividing the circumference of the circle by its diameter. Use "heel-to-toe" measurements to find the circumference and diameter of the circle. Now divide to find your approximation for ¶. How close is your approximation? How do you think early mathematicians approximated ¶?

Now look at the octagon. How would you approximate its area?

6. University Chapel: Gothic Revival (1925)

History: The Gothic style and church architecture became synonymous in nineteenth century Europe as well as America. A. G. Pugin who designed the British House of Parliament was influential in aggressively clamoring for a return to a completely medieval way of life. In his book, True Principles and Revival of Christian Architecture, Pugin said that Gothic was a Christian architecture and that Greek revival architecture was a pagan architecture. He felt that Gothic buildings would influence people in Christian ways and beliefs.

The University Chapel at Princeton was designed by Ralph Adams Cram, a leading proponent of academic Gothic revival in the United States ,who also designed the nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. This Chapel is modeled after the Chapel at King's College, Cambridge. On the outside, note the tympanum over the main entrance which depicts a scene from the Apocalypse as described in the Book of Revelations. The oak pews in the nave are made from wood originally intended for Civil War gun carriages. The French pulpit dates back to the mid-sixteenth century. In the chancel, the pine wood for the pews is from Sherwood Forest in England and took 100 people one year to carve. Note also the carved statues and stained glass windows which are typical of Gothic construction and also show religious stories for the worshippers.

Mathematics: After you have had time to look at the beauty of the Chapel, discuss how to approximate the seating capacity.

If a famous art treasure were on display in the Chapel and guards needed to be able to see every person on the main floor, what would be the minimum number of guards necessary and where should they stand?

Outside the Chapel on the southeast side is the Mather Sundial. Notice that there are sundials on two opposite sides of the monument. Discuss how a sundial works. Many vertical sundials are on the walls of buildings. Think about where you would find sundials: on the north and south walls? on the east and west walls? Why? Check your map and see if you were correct. Look for other sundials on the campus. There are at least two others.

The base of the monument is made up of octagons. If you number from the bottom to the top, so that the bottom octagon is number one, the ratio of the sides of number one and number four is approximately 2:1. Using these numbers, what is the ratio of the areas of the same octagons? Discuss why this is the case.

Biology: The variety and size of trees that grace the Chapel are truly in harmony with the grandeur of the structure. A lone magnolia is ringed by maples on the northwest corner of the front lawn. Two yellow poplars with their "blunt-nose" leaves dominate the area nearest the front entrance. Oaks, ash, and elm line the walk on the south side and a lone redbud graces the north side entrance to the Chapel. Numerous species of plants and animals are carved into the structure, in arches bordering the doorways. Especially noteworthy is the north side entrance with its delightful combination of grapevines, foxes, bears, snakes, lizards, peacocks, doves, eagles and vultures. Other arches show oak leaves with acorns, eagles, owls, and bats. A lone bulldog adorns a plaque on the back side of the Chapel, secretly placed there by the builder - a man from Yale!

Just adjacent to the Chapel, in front of McCosh Hall, stands a stately oak with a major branch amputated. The open wound has failed to heal due to a bacterial infection, leaving the wound open to invasion by other damaging parasites. The white patch under the limb scar is evidence of the sloughing effect of the bacteria.

7. Murray-Dodge Hall: Gothic Revival in Brownstone (1890-1900)

History: A stop at Murray-Dodge Hall can be a continued study of Gothic detail that was of interest to the nineteenth century revivalist. Here the adornments include leaded windows and miniature turrets designed with crockets. In the nineteenth century, there was a great interest in decoration, sometimes in excess and sometimes chosen in an eclectic style.

Biology: Murray-Dodge Hall has a large, mature, flowering crabapple on the north side (in the front). It also has a large flowering dogwood next to the north side and there is a sycamore maple across the sidewalk as you walk toward the Chapel.

Mathematics: The walk in front of Murray-Dodge Hall consists of a pattern of small squares. Toss a coin onto the walk several times (or toss several coins) and keep track of when the coin lands on a crack and when it does not. Remember probability is a fraction with the number of times your desired event occurs over the total number of times a coin is tossed. Determine the probability the coin lands on a crack and the probability it does not land on a crack. What is special about the two answers?

8. McCormick Hall: Sienese Gothic (1922)

History: This style of architecture harkens back to Siena for the convention of the building. Polychromy or structural coloration can be seen in the finish on the outside of the building. Also note the Gothic windows and Italian style balconies, giving a very "Romeo and Juliet" effect.

Mathematics: East of McCormick Hall at the entrance to the Art Museum is a sculpture based on a piece titled Head of a Woman by Pablo Picasso. Picasso's original work was slightly taller than one foot and was constructed of sheet metal that was painted. Compare this work with the original and discuss the geometric shapes you see.

9. Brown Hall: Renaissance Palazzo (1891)

History: Brown Hall is modeled after a Renaissance Palazzo. It has a heavy rusticated base with rough hewn stones. The Roman bricktop completes the structure. Two different styles of windows compliment the building. The arched entry way leads into a tranquil courtyard. The Medicis would probably be at home here.

Biology: As you approach Brown Hall from any direction, lift your head and gaze upon the numerous tiger heads carved along the eaves of the roof. Do they closely resemble another felis, the lion? Brown Hall is one of the dormitories of this Ivy League school and is appropriately planted with ivy along the walls on the south, east, and west and the courtyard inside. The Ivy League name is said to have come from IV - the Roman numeral designating the four collegiate schools that competed in sports rather than the ivy plant climbing the stonewalls with their adventitious roots. Sparrows may be seen sitting on the stone window sills.

Mathematics: Brown Hall has an arch leading to the center of the building. What geometric figures do you see in the arch? If the top part of the arch is a semi-circle, what would be its radius?

10. Prospect House: Florentine Bracket Italianate (1852)

History: The Victorians wanted to enjoy the beauty of the garden, and the Italianate style includes ornate balconies and terraces from which to view beautiful grounds. Mrs. Woodrow Wilson helped to plan the present garden. An important element of Italianate that can be seen here is asymmetry. Note the tower is to one side. Also note the high arched windows and the heavy ornamental brackets under the roof which are distinctive of this style.

Biology: Entering Prospect garden at the large compass, one can see numerous rhododendrons, laurels, and various conifers surrounding the outside edge of the garden. You should check the number of interesting types of conifers and the extent of biodiversity found in the garden - look for the giant sequoia, Spanish fir, tiger tail spruce, Himalayan pine and dawn redwood. Within and surrounding this woodland thicket various ferns and shrubs can be found from ivy to poison ivy. In the lower eastern side of the garden there are several very large yew trees as well as many, many Canadian hemlocks.

In the center of the garden is the Centaur fountain and with the turn of your head in any direction, squirrels may be seen running from one tree to another. Looking up towards Prospect House and on your left is a cedar of Lebanon tree. It can be recognized by its flattened spreading branches. This specimen is said to be the best cedar of Lebanon in the United States.

The garden surrounding the fountain is composed of collections of perennial, biennial, and annual plants. There are many colorful varieties such as day lilies, tiger lilies, nicotiana, salvia, impatiens, etc. Interspersed among the flowering plants are many herbs such as basil, yarrow, tansy, calendula, foxglove, and lavender to name just a few. The garden provides not only a lovely place to enjoy the variety of plants but also an oasis for peace and quiet.

Mathematics: Is the garden at Prospect House in the shape of a semi-circle? Make some measurements to verify your answer.

The fountain in the garden has water flowing from several places. If you are adventuresome, you may want to walk into the water to measure the rate of flow of the water from two or more sources. Then you can compare these rates. (Be careful! The water is about knee deep.)

Finally look at the paths around and through the garden. Try walking on all of the paths without repeating any sections. How could you alter the arrangement of the paths to make such a walk possible? Why can some path arrangements be walked without repetition and others cannot?

IV. Conclusion

This completes the interdisciplinary trail. We wish to thank Dr. Henry Pollak and Cathy Wick for all of their contributing ideas.

It is hoped that this interdisciplinary trail has been enjoyable for the entire family. Learning about biology, history, and mathematics can be fun. It is important that parents and children will have an opportunity to discover, visit, and share ideas. Perhaps you will be able to develop a trail of your own when you return home.

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