142-568: The Gould Memorial Library (GML; also nicknamed Gould) is a building on the campus of Bronx Community College (BCC), an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), in University Heights, Bronx , New York City, United States. The building was designed by Stanford White of the firm McKim, Mead & White . Constructed between 1895 and 1900 as the central library of New York University (NYU)'s Bronx campus, it
284-524: A Greek cross ; this layout was also used for the Low Memorial Library , designed by White's colleague Charles Follen McKim . It measures four bays wide on each elevation . The corners of the building contain notches. To the north, west, and south are wings with pediments , each of which measures one bay deep and four bays across. The eastern elevation, facing the rest of the BCC campus, contains
426-494: A matching grant of $ 500,000 to fund further renovations, as well as the four unexecuted busts. To raise money for the hall's renovation and expansion, BCC organized a $ 1 million fundraiser in 2001. Nearly two years later, BCC had raised only $ 2,000, all of it from NYU alumni. By 2009, the Hall of Fame was largely being maintained by two local historians, Art and Susan Zuckerman, who said the hall had 5,000 visitors per year. Many of
568-731: A portico with Corinthian columns. Each of the six columns in the portico is made of Indiana sandstone. The library, as well as the adjacent buildings, are clad with buff brick and limestone trim. Pink granite and soft-red copper were also used in the building's construction. The main entrance to the library is underneath the portico to the east. It contains bronze entrance doors, which were designed in 1921 and sculpted by White's son, Lawrence Grant White . The doors, consisting of eight relief panels, were designed by six sculptors who had worked with Stanford White. The remaining three elevations are made of Roman red brick, framed with pilasters made of limestone . The brick walls contain windows. Each of
710-440: A Tiffany-glass skylight, which has since been sealed. The skylight measured 23 ft (7.0 m) across. The top of the dome is either 70 ft (21 m) or 73 ft (22 m) above the main floor of the reading room. Adjacent to the reading room were 18 seminar rooms, each of which was connected to a set of stacks. Each seminar room measured 18 by 14 ft (5.5 by 4.3 m) and contained two tables, which accommodated
852-402: A circular reading room. The ornately designed reading room contains two colonnades flanking two balcony levels; multiple Tiffany glass windows; a balustrade with sixteen statues; and a coffered ceiling . Originally, the reading room was surrounded by three levels of stacks and 18 seminar rooms. Under the library was a 600-seat auditorium. New York University's Bronx campus was developed in
994-593: A depiction of the Gould Library for the stamp representing Stanford White's work. Bronx Community College The Bronx Community College of the City University of New York ( BCC ) is a public community college in the Bronx , New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. The college was established in 1957 through the efforts of civic-minded groups who felt that there
1136-601: A domed ceiling. There is a revolving door just inside the vestibule, which leads to a landing with a mosaic floor and wooden office doors. The side walls contain barrel-vaulted staircases descending to the basement. One of these staircases led to the auditorium. This stairway contained six marble panels with the inscription "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom" in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, English, and German. A main staircase with 24 Tennessee marble steps ascends from
1278-464: A dozen Supreme Court justices, and six Presidents". The Hall of Fame had at least one elector from every U.S. state. To avoid a conflict of interest, NYU officials were barred from serving on the board of electors. Each elector was picked by NYU's faculty senate; if an elector were to die or resign, the NYU senate would vote to select new electors. The board of electors originally selected candidates by
1420-771: A grand thunderstorm", in contrast with McKim's design for the Low Library. Columbia University architectural professor Andrew Dolkart said in 2005: "The interior is among the most dramatic and most magnificent in America." A model of NYU's University Heights campus, including the Gould Memorial Library, was displayed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904. The library was separately featured in an exhibition presented by
1562-578: A hill. The remaining silver medals of honorees were melted down. Johnson & Jensen bought the remaining bronze medals, which they planned to sell at a deep discount. DASNY had allocated $ 2 million to fix the leaking roof and the walkway in 1981, though the National Endowment for the Arts rejected BCC's request for a $ 37,000 grant to repair the Hall of Fame. The hall was closed for repairs that year, reopening in 1985. Afterward, BCC created
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#17327767219381704-530: A lack of funding, while the remaining 98 busts started to decay over the years. Following periods of deterioration, BCC renovated the Hall of Fame several times in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. BCC removed the busts of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in 2017 following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia , that led to national outcry against Confederate monuments more broadly. The memorial structure
1846-533: A letter to White, asking the architect if he would be interested in designing NYU's Bronx campus. White's involvement was largely based on the fact that his father, Richard Grant White , had attended NYU. White originally planned to relocate NYU's original building "stone by stone" to the Bronx. The relocated building would contain a museum, library, and chapel; the Mali mansion would contain classrooms. In addition, two new structures were to have been constructed. This plan
1988-510: A member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Broncos are a member of the community college section of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, track & field and volleyball. The college has been used as
2130-401: A plan for two classroom buildings flanking a domed central building. All structures would be made of yellow brick and limestone. The next month, the university sold its original building to fund the construction of the new Bronx campus. NYU's main campus at Washington Square continued to operate. Norcross Brothers began constructing the campus that April, and White was finalizing his plans for
2272-445: A promotional videotape and trained several tour guides. The state government also provided $ 165,000 to fund educational programs and new directors at the Hall of Fame. The surrounding neighborhood had started to improve by the late 1980s, though the Hall of Fame remained relatively obscure. The hall had only 1,000 visitors in 1987, excluding students on field trips, even though admission was free. In 1991, CUNY hired Ralph M. Rourke as
2414-425: A quote from each honoree. The western walls of the Hall of Language and the Hall of Philosophy, which face the Hall of Fame, are also used for inscriptions. As of 2017, the hall contains 96 busts, which are placed on pedestals above the parapet walls. Beneath each bust is a bronze tablet bearing the name of the person commemorated, significant dates, achievements, and quotations. The busts themselves were created by
2556-410: A simple majority vote, although three-fifths of electors had to agree on nominations from 1925 to 1940. After the board of electors voted in favor of a nominee, a majority of NYU's senate (including its "honorary members") had to approve the board of electors' choice. The NYU senate could theoretically veto any selection, although this never happened during the hall's history. For the 1976 election,
2698-552: A steward, raising funds and running the elections, the whole thing was technically the property of the American people. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Hall of Fame was "a window on early 20th-century ideas of greatness". The hall's acting director had described the Hall of Fame in 1920 as the "American Westminster Abbey", and urban planner Robert Moses said that the Hall of Fame carried "no bust of an unworthy or second-rate person". The critic Paul Goldberger described
2840-496: A substantial number of votes in a previous election, they were automatically re-nominated for the next election. For example, all nominees who had received more than five votes in 1910 or 1915 were also considered in 1920. The threshold for re-nomination was increased to 20 votes starting in 1935. The board of electors then decided on each nomination from June to October. All electors were required to send in their ballots by October 1; to accommodate electors who lived further away,
2982-596: A total of four people. There were six seminar rooms on each of the first through third levels. The seminar rooms for the history and philosophy departments were on the first level. The language departments occupied the rooms on the second level. The seminar rooms for the various mathematics, sciences, engineering, and arts departments were on the third level. The library's holdings included a collection of 8,000 German-language books from an anonymous donor, as well as 3,000 Italian volumes from former NYU philosophy professor Vincenzo Botta . NYU's administrative offices, just outside
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#17327767219383124-493: A variety of sculptors at various times. Each class of honorees is placed in a different portion of the hall; for example, authors' and editors' busts are placed at the north end, while inventors' busts are placed at the south end. Next to the Hall of Fame is a bust of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette , a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette
3266-412: A very low seating capacity . In 1996, BCC hired the firm of Platt Byard Dovell to restore the auditorium, and it hired William A. Hall Partnership to design a rehabilitation of the roof. The basement auditorium was restored to its original appearance in 2000 after Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer allocated funding for the project. Ferrer also provided funding for a new sound and lighting system for
3408-493: A wall was constructed in front of the balcony. The number of students at the Bronx campus decreased by 40 percent from 1968 to 1973, creating a large financial deficit for NYU. The New York state government recommended in February 1972 that NYU sell its Bronx campus, and governor Nelson Rockefeller authorized the sale three months later. New York City's public university system, the City University of New York (CUNY), acquired
3550-405: A wide array of workforce community development and personal enrichment courses and programs through Continuing & Professional Studies. CPS also delivers customized training for local employers. CPS works closely with unions, city, state and federal agencies and accepts vouchers and other forms of financial aid for individual students. Since 1987, the college is also the local administrator of
3692-699: A year for the hall's upkeep. The agreement lasted three years. Four additional honorees ( Louis D. Brandeis , George Washington Carver , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and John Philip Sousa ) were elected in November 1973, bringing the total number of inductees to 99. NYU was considering eliminating its $ 61,000 annual subsidy for the Hall of Fame by 1976. The hall's remote location, far from the New York City Subway , attracted few visitors compared to other tourist attractions in New York City. At
3834-794: Is 170 ft (52 m) above sea level and overlooks the Harlem River immediately to the west. When Gould was built, the plateau had views of the Palisades to the west, Spuyten Duyvil to the north, Long Island to the east, and the South Bronx to the south. The modern site overlooks the Major Deegan Expressway , the Metro-North Railroad 's Hudson Line , and the Harlem River to the west. Gould
3976-417: Is aligned with an inner colonnade of freestanding green Connemara marble columns. The colonnades flank a passageway with a floor of white, black, and yellow marble tiles; the passageway measures about 5 ft (1.5 m) wide. A skylight in the middle of the ground floor, measuring 15 ft (4.6 m) across, illuminates the former auditorium in the basement. There are three balconies immediately above
4118-426: Is an open-air loggia flanked by colonnades . Designed in the neoclassical style by architect Stanford White of the firm McKim, Mead & White , it was built as part of New York University (NYU)'s Bronx campus. The loggia has space for 102 bronze sculptural busts . The loggia runs to the west of the Hall of Languages, Gould Memorial Library , and Hall of Philosophy from south to north. The section around
4260-454: Is arranged in the shape of a Greek cross and is surrounded by the Hall of Fame for Great Americans to its west. The library's main entrance is on the east side, where there is a portico with a Corinthian -style colonnade . The copper dome contains an ornamental frieze as well as an oculus at its center. Inside the entrance vestibule, a barrel-vaulted stair hall leads up to offices and
4402-423: Is in and who is not, I'm ashamed to be associated with it." He said many of the figures in the hall were "truly great people who led inspirational lives," but "quite a number make you wonder how they got in." The Hall of Fame has also been referenced in works of popular culture, such as the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz . The Hall of Fame, along with other structures on the BCC campus, have frequently been used as
Gould Memorial Library - Misplaced Pages Continue
4544-505: Is placed within the middle of the dome, and a glass lighting orb is suspended from this roundel. The walls of the upper landing are similar to those in the stair hall: Portland stone on the lower two-thirds of the wall and pale-yellow marble panels above. Directly in front of the stair hall is a doorway with an eared frame and a triangular pediment , which leads directly into the reading room. In addition, each side wall contains doorways to NYU's former administrative offices. The librarian's room
4686-494: Is the only non-American citizen in the complex, though he was given honorary U.S. citizenship. Above his bust is the inscription "New York University to Lafayette 1932", while below is the inscription "I am an American citizen and an American officer." There are storage rooms behind the foundation halls and below the walkway. This space was originally used as the Museum of the Hall of Fame, which contained exhibits and portraits of
4828-410: Is to the left while the chancellor's room is to the right. Above all these doorways are lunette openings with niches, each of which is large enough to fit a bust. The circular reading room was designed as the centerpiece of the library and was surrounded by three levels of stacks . The outer wall of the reading room contains a colonnade of 16 triple-height engaged and fluted Corinthian columns. It
4970-587: The Bronx Museum of the Arts in 1986. The Gould Memorial Library, along with other buildings on the BCC campus, has frequently been used as a filming location. The library has been shown in films such as Sophie's Choice (1982), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), and A Beautiful Mind (2001). Additionally, the United States Postal Service issued postage stamps depicting notable works by American architects in 1981. The USPS used
5112-512: The City University of New York (CUNY), which operated the campus as part of the Bronx Community College (BCC). The sale specifically excluded the Hall of Fame, which CUNY officials believed had no value. Following the sale, there was uncertainty as to whether NYU, CUNY, or another organization would operate the Hall of Fame. The Trustees of the Hall of Fame was established in 1974, and NYU and CUNY jointly provided $ 125,000
5254-554: The International Building in Rockefeller Center in mid-1937. Following Johnson's death later that year, journalist John Huston Finley was appointed as the Hall of Fame's director. Of 141 candidates nominated in 1940, composer Stephen Collins Foster was the only person selected; his bust was dedicated the next May. This was the first time a musician was elected to the Hall of Fame, as well as
5396-479: The Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co. in a gold color. These columns support an entablature and a balcony. The entablature contains a frieze with an inscription in all capital letters, which is derived from book 1 of John Milton 's poem Paradise Lost . There is an architrave with Greek frets beneath the inscription, as well as a cornice with brackets above. The balcony on the fourth level, above
5538-401: The 1890s. Construction on the library started in 1895 after Shepard anonymously donated $ 200,000. During much of the 20th century, NYU used the library for commencement ceremonies and other events. The university installed numerous busts of artists inside the library during the 1920s and 1930s. NYU built additional campus libraries in the 1950s due to a lack of space at Gould, and the auditorium
5680-537: The 1955 election. By then, the renown of some of the nominees had begun to decline, and many nominees tended to be from lesser-known fields. The bust of Wilson, who had been honored in the previous election, was dedicated in May 1956. Stonewall Jackson's bust was dedicated one year later in May 1957, followed that December by the busts of Westinghouse and Gibbs. NYU wished to unveil Wilbur Wright's bust alongside that of his brother Orville Wright , who had died in 1948 and
5822-551: The 1960s, when the hall and its honorees were covered in the World Book Encyclopedia . Only two individuals were elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970: Albert A. Michelson and Lillian Wald . Subsequently, elections for the Hall of Fame were hosted every three years. Wald's bust was installed in September 1971. By then, the hall's renown had started to decline. Urban planner Robert Moses wrote in 1971 that
Gould Memorial Library - Misplaced Pages Continue
5964-594: The 55 acres (22 ha) site overlooking the Harlem River . In 2012, the North Hall and Library opened. The building is designed to resemble many of the historic buildings on campus, and on one end is located next to an entrance of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans . The college is home to the Center for Sustainable Energy, which was founded in 2003 as an educational resource for students pursuing careers in alternative energy . Bronx Community College offers
6106-526: The Connemara marble columns. The library was completed in 1900. According to a New-York Tribune article from that December, all work had been finished except for the installation of some furniture. Within a month, the Tribune said of the library: "Hardly a week passes without major additions to it." A stained-glass window depicting justice, goodness, and power was also installed at Gould in early 1901. By
6248-408: The Gould Library is curved to the west. The loggia measures 630 feet (190 m) long; the original section measured 500 feet (150 m) long. The firm of Crow, Lewis and Wick designed the 130-foot-long (40 m) annex, with McKim, Mead & White as supervising architects. Sedgwick Avenue , which runs directly west of the Hall of Fame, is about 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) beneath
6390-547: The Gould Library's chapel. When the library opened, the New-York Tribune said the auditorium could fit 400 people and a theatre organ on the stage. The seats were arranged in an amphitheater layout, surrounding a stage. In addition, there were 18 professors' offices around the stage. Science professors occupied eight offices directly behind the stage; history and philosophy professors occupied five offices on one side; and mathematics professors occupied five offices on
6532-858: The Hall of American Artists at the Gould Library in the late 1910s. Sixteen busts of artists, painters, and sculptors were approved for the library's reading room. The first busts, commemorating American artists Carroll Beckwith , George Inness , and Clinton Ogilvie, were installed at the Gould Library in August 1921. That December, NYU officials dedicated a new set of front doors for the library, which had been manufactured in memory of Stanford White. Other busts at Gould included those of William Merritt Chase (1923); Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1925); James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Samuel Morse (1928); Francis Davis Millet , Elihu Vedder , Charles Webster Hawthorne , and Charles Grafly (1934); and Charles Henry Niehaus (1938). A bust of NYU chancellor Elmer Ellsworth Brown
6674-451: The Hall of Fame Complex, and the LPC designated the library's interior as a New York City landmark in 1981. The Gould Library fell into disrepair during the late 20th century. The library's upkeep was funded through grants from politicians, as well as payments from filmmakers who used the library as a filming location. One issue was that, since the library building had few emergency exits, it had
6816-507: The Hall of Fame accepted ballots until October 15. Each elector obtained ballots from the Hall of Fame's curator, upon which they could vote for up to seven individuals. The electors could only vote on nominations from the public or nominees from previous years. An elector could then mark a nominee as being either eligible, ineligible, or out of that elector's field of expertise. Electors included "the most respected writers, historians, and educators of their day, along with scores of congressmen,
6958-503: The Hall of Fame later the same year, and their busts were unveiled the next May. By 1935, the Hall of Fame retained 11 of its original electors. That year, the electors voted to induct three men. The busts of two of these men were unveiled in May 1936, but the bust of Grover Cleveland was dedicated almost a year later in March 1937, coinciding with what would have been his 100th birthday. The Hall of Fame's electors leased offices at
7100-457: The Hall of Fame the next year as its popularity declined. This was at least partially attributed to fears of high crime in the surrounding area. The Los Angeles Times said in 1978 that "its dignity and grandeur are viewed by almost no one today". That year, officials in New Jersey rejected a plan to relocate the Hall of Fame to Liberty State Park . Responsibility for the Hall of Fame
7242-589: The Hall of Fame's first director in more than a decade. Five busts remained to be installed because of a lack of funds, but Rourke hoped to install Barton's and Franklin D. Roosevelt's busts within a year. Roosevelt's bust was finally installed in July 1992. The William A. Hall Partnership was hired to restore the ceiling in 1992, and the Cavalier Renaissance Foundry restored 90 of the busts for about $ 40,000. Several conservators criticized
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#17327767219387384-412: The Hall of Fame's second director, following the death of MacCracken, his immediate predecessor. Between the two world wars, the Hall of Fame saw up to 50,000 visitors annually. Seven Americans were selected in 1920, including foreign-born theologian Roger Williams , who had first been elected ten years prior. Five busts, depicting nominees from previous elections, were unveiled in May 1922; they were
7526-719: The Hall of Languages, the Cornelius Baker Hall of Philosophy and the Gould Memorial Library – and Brutalist concrete buildings by Marcel Breuer , including Begrisch Hall (1956–61) and the Colston Residence Hall and Cafeteria (1964). Other buildings – such as South Hall, formerly the Gustav H. Schwab House (1857); Butler Hall, formerly William Henry W. T. Mall House ( c. 1859 ); and MacCracken Hall, originally
7668-559: The Hall of Languages. MacCracken continued to modify the design after the groundbreaking. In September 1896, he wrote that it was "rather bewildering" that $ 500,000 had already been spent on the library, even though it had not been fitted out. MacCracken also requested that the library be fitted out with green Connemara marble columns, rather than the "sham" marble columns in White's original plans. White's partner McKim had secured only two Connemara marble columns for Columbia's Low Library due to
7810-565: The King of Bavaria. Like all Americans, he admired the use made of Westminster Abbey, and of the Pantheon in Paris. But the American claims liberty to adopt new and broad rules to govern him, even when following on the track of his Old-World ancestors. Hence it was agreed that admission to this Hall of Fame should be controlled by a national body of electors, who might, as nearly as possible, represent
7952-617: The Loring Andrews House ( c. 1880 ) – are repurposed mansions which predate the campus. The original landscaping for the campus was by Vaux & Co. The complex of Stanford White buildings, judged one of the finest concentrations of Beaux Arts architecture in the US, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. On the BCC campus is the Hall of Fame for Great Americans , founded in 1900 by Henry Mitchell MacCracken , Chancellor of NYU from 1891 to 1910. It
8094-634: The SUNY Bronx Educational Opportunity Center. The SUNY Bronx EOC provides tuition free academic and vocational programs to New Yorkers who qualify and it is funded by the University Center for Academic and Workforce Development (UCAWD) part of the State University of New York . The BCC campus originally housed New York University's undergraduate college and engineering school – which
8236-410: The bottom of the staircase and one near the top. There are bronze torchères attached to both sets of pilasters, above which are glass orbs providing illumination to the stairway. The top of each wall contains an entablature, above which rises the ceiling. The top of the stair hall contains an upper landing with a domed ceiling, similar in design to the lower landing. A green roundel of Tiffany glass
8378-479: The building to be restored and reused. A spokesperson for Bronx Community College said, "It matters to CUNY, but we've got to keep heat going for students." The city had provided $ 4 million for the restoration of the library building, and the Extell Development Company provided additional funds for the digitization of the library's original blueprints. Save Gould Memorial Library estimated that
8520-452: The busts dedicated between 1930 and 1970 were installed shortly after the elections of their respective honorees. The Hall of Fame became part of BCC after NYU sold its Bronx campus to the City University of New York in 1973. The last honorees were elected in 1976, and the Hall of Fame has largely fallen into obscurity since then. The busts of Louis Brandeis , Clara Barton , Luther Burbank , and Andrew Carnegie were never sculpted due to
8662-419: The busts of Confederate States Army generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson be removed. Following the removals, the Hall of Fame had 96 busts and space for six additional busts. CUNY planned to host an election to fill the two remaining spots, but there were still no funds for these elections. The Hall of Fame was deteriorating by 2018, with cracked masonry in many places and bird droppings on some of
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#17327767219388804-503: The busts. The Cultural Landscape Foundation described the Hall of Fame as being one of several historic sites across the United States that were "at risk". All nominees had to be citizens of the United States , whether naturalized or native-born , and they were required to have died at least 25 years prior to nomination. Originally, inductees were required to have died at least 10 years before their nomination, but this
8946-500: The campus in early 1973 for $ 62 million, moving Bronx Community College there. BCC moved onto the campus that September. BCC did not use the building as a library, since the stacks were arranged inefficiently, although BCC still used the auditorium for assemblies. The reading room was only used occasionally for parties and other events. The Gould Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, as part of
9088-548: The central building of the new NYU campus, the library had the largest budget; the remaining buildings had simpler designs due to a lack of funds. The library's budget was influenced by the design, whereas the opposite was typically true. After Shepard's donation, NYU's library committee wished to host an architectural design competition for the library, inviting White, Richard Morris Hunt , Henry Janeway Hardenbergh , and George B. Post . Hunt, Hardenbergh, and Post all declined to participate. MacCracken initially did not seem to like
9230-411: The central section of the reading room, which is 54 ft 3 in (16.54 m) across. Each of the columns has a diameter of 3 ft 5 in (1.04 m). Between each set of columns were glazed cases for large books or portfolios. The columns were constructed in six sections and are placed atop white Vermont-marble pedestals . The tops of the columns have metal Corinthian capitals , painted by
9372-423: The colonnades, contains a plaster balustrade with openwork motifs, interrupted by 16 plaster pedestals with Tiffany glass mosaics. Atop these pedestals are plaster statues of female figures. The statues may represent four Greek figures related to learning: Polyhymnia (muse of sacred poetry), Calliope (muse of epic poetry), Mnemosyne (goddess of memory), and Urania (muse of astronomy). There are bookcases on
9514-487: The dome is divided into several stepped tiers. Surrounding the oculus are decorations such as antefixes. Several authors have likened the arrangement of the building, with its dome and porticoes, to the University of Virginia 's Rotunda . Just inside the doors is a vestibule with bronze lamps on either side. The vestibule is decorated with stained-glass windows; a mosaic floor with red, yellow, white and black tiles; and
9656-484: The domed reading room could not be seen until a visitor reached the top of the staircase. Each of the steps is 12 ft (3.7 m) wide. The walls of the stair hall are clad with Portland stone to about two-thirds of the stair hall's height. A frieze with a scroll pattern, as well as pale-yellow panels of marble, runs atop the Portland-stone section of the wall. Each wall contains two stone pilasters, one near
9798-412: The electors were allowed to select at least two women in every election. The planned northern extension of the Hall of Fame was never built. In early 1915, NYU announced plans for a separate women's wing after receiving $ 33,000 in donations. That year, the electors selected seven new names (including Charlotte Cushman , the first performer to be elected) as well as two of the foreign-born honorees from
9940-426: The end of the year, Gould had 61,000 volumes, of which 5,000 had been added during the past year. The adjacent Hall of Fame was dedicated in May 1901, a year after Shepard had donated $ 100,000 for the hall. NYU started using the library's auditorium for commencement ceremonies in 1903. During the early 20th century, the library hosted free concerts, public-speaking contests, and Easter services. NYU approved plans for
10082-399: The eventual honorees were rejected several times before they were selected, including Edgar Allan Poe , Walt Whitman , and James Monroe . Soon after the Hall of Fame opened, it became a focal point for U.S. national pride. As one writer, Richard Rubin, said: It was a truly democratic institution — anyone could nominate a candidate, admission would be free, and although NYU served as
10224-460: The exterior of the Gould Library as a city landmark in March 1966. The NYU campus was the site of several student protests in the late 1960s. Amid this unrest, Gould's auditorium was severely damaged by arson in April 1969, though the main library was not damaged. At the time, Gould had 300,000 books. Marcel Breuer redesigned the auditorium in a brutalist style; the original ornamentation was removed and
10366-481: The fact that the original finishes of these busts had been removed. The state provided $ 200,000 for the renovation; at the time, public contributions toward the hall's upkeep had ceased nearly entirely. The hall ultimately cost $ 1.3 million to restore; the project was completed in 1997. The next year, the Municipal Art Society gave BCC a preservation award for "outstanding building restoration". By
10508-461: The final selections being made in 2000. An individual was eligible only if they were born in the U.S. and had died at least ten years prior. NYU invited 100 people to serve as electors in late March 1900. At that point, the cost of the hall had nearly doubled to $ 200,000. Each U.S. state originally had one elector; in twenty states, the chief justice served as that state's elector. The electors received 252 nominations, only 30 of which received
10650-630: The first busts to be added since 1907. The same year, the Hall of Fame's board of electors decided to abolish separate elections for female nominees. The board also enacted stricter inclusion criteria: nominees were only considered if they had been dead for at least 25 years, and three-fifths of electors had to agree on induction. The electors had been concerned that "zealous partisans and relatives" would attempt to nominate individuals of "temporary vogue" shortly after their deaths. The honorees' tablets, which had been segregated by gender, were subsequently rearranged. New tablets had to be created for each of
10792-486: The first election in which a single honoree was selected. Radio host William Lyon Phelps was also appointed as the hall's director in early 1941. Phelps died less than three years later, and educator James Rowland Angell became the hall's fifth director in 1944. The Hall of Fame's electors switched back to a majority vote for the 1945 election, when four men were selected: Booker T. Washington , Sidney Lanier , Walter Reed , and Thomas Paine . The bust of Washington,
10934-409: The first level, the outer bays of each alcove contained bookcases, while the central bay contained a swinging bookcase that doubled as a doorway. The names of academics and other intellectual figures are inscribed onto the walls of the reading room, above and below the bookcases. The second and third levels contained iron bookcases, gilded doors, and inscriptions similar to those on the first level. Above
11076-477: The funds to research the library's history, examine the building's condition, and create a preservation plan. In 2012, the National Park Service designated the BCC campus, including the Gould Memorial Library, as a National Historic Landmark . BCC was the first community college in the United States to be designated as such. By 2015, a group called Save Gould Memorial Library was advocating for
11218-406: The growth of commerce would stymie undergraduate education. MacCracken acquired the estate of H. W. T. Mali, on a bluff in the Bronx along the Harlem River , in May 1891. He became NYU's chancellor the next month, in large part due to his acquisition of the Mali estate. The original purchase covered 22 acres (8.9 ha) and was subsequently expanded several times. In January 1892, MacCracken wrote
11360-473: The hall's architecture in 1984 as making it "one of the most remarkable places in New York". In the years after the Hall of Fame for Great Americans opened, more than 700 halls of fame were opened across the United States. By the late 20th century, many of these halls of fame honored people in a specific field, such as a sport. As Richard Rubin of The Atlantic Monthly wrote in 1997: "Now achievement alone
11502-476: The hall's electors only selected 29 people in the first election. Furthermore, the requirement could not be enforced after the 1900 election. In practice, most of the honorees in 1900 were politicians and statesmen. More than three decades later, politicians and statesmen comprised a plurality of the hall's honorees. As of 1976, when the last election was held, the Hall of Fame had 102 honorees. At least one-quarter of honorees are from New York state or have ties to
11644-911: The hall's first Black honoree, was dedicated in May 1946. Busts of the other honorees were delayed; Lanier's bust was dedicated in October 1946, while Reed's was dedicated in May 1948. Ralph Washington Sockman , the pastor of Christ Church United Methodist in Manhattan, became the hall's sixth director after Angell died in 1949. Sockman served in that position until his death two decades later. Six people were selected in 1950: Susan B. Anthony , Alexander Graham Bell , Josiah Willard Gibbs , William C. Gorgas , Theodore Roosevelt , and Woodrow Wilson . Bell's and Gorgas's busts were dedicated in 1951, followed by those of Anthony and Payne in 1952 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1954. Wilbur Wright , George Westinghouse , and Stonewall Jackson were selected during
11786-470: The hall's honorees. When the Hall of Fame opened, NYU used some of the museum space as classrooms. The museum consisted of six rooms and a corridor; one of the rooms was named the Washington Gallery, after honoree George Washington . Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken , chancellor of NYU, proposed the Hall of Fame in the late 1890s to conceal a retaining wall for the Gould Memorial Library, which
11928-435: The hall. The Hall of Fame's walkway measures 10 feet 3 inches (3.12 m) wide, flanked by parapets measuring 4 feet (1.2 m) high. The northern and southern entrances to the Hall of Fame both contain sculpted gates designed by Samuel Yellin . The gates were donated by Mrs. Charles Beatty Alexander in memory of her late husband. The words "Enter with Joy that those within have lived" are inscribed above
12070-420: The honorees had fallen into obscurity, leading Susan Zuckerman to say: "If you know 70 percent of the names, you’re doing well." BCC announced plans in 2015 to raise $ 25 to $ 50 million for a renovation of the Gould Library, including an expansion of the Hall of Fame into the library. In August 2017, following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia , New York governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that
12212-679: The late 1990s, Rourke hoped to restart elections for the Hall of Fame. To accommodate additional honorees, Rourke proposed expanding the Hall of Fame into the Gould Library, as well as displaying short video clips instead of busts. Meanwhile, Rourke asked Brandeis University , the American Red Cross , and the Carnegie Foundation if they would respectively fund the busts of Brandeis, Barton, and Carnegie. All three organizations declined to donate $ 25,000 for each bust. In 2000, Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer offered
12354-419: The library by the end of 1894. The first building on the new campus was the Hall of Languages, as that was the only structure for which funds had been procured. In May 1895, NYU received a $ 250,000 gift for the construction of the central building, which was to contain the library, museum, commencement hall, and administrative offices. The library would have capacity for a million books, while the commencement hall
12496-440: The library. The J. Paul Getty Trust granted $ 228,000 for the restoration of the Gould Library and other buildings on the BCC campus in 2004. By then, dirt had accumulated throughout the library; the bookshelves were dangling from the walls; and the skylight atop the reading room was covered by a sheet. Additionally, the steel superstructure of the library had corroded because the steel beams were not galvanized . Conservators used
12638-449: The loggia is made of Guastavino tile , while the sloped roof above is clad with red Spanish tile. The Hall of Fame was originally planned to have space for 150 plaques, each measuring 2 by 8 feet (0.61 by 2.44 m). As designed, the plaques measure about 13 inches (330 mm) tall and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide. Louis Comfort Tiffany designed each plaque, which includes information about each honoree's name and lifespan, as well as
12780-664: The lower landing to the reading room. The main staircase is placed inside a stair hall with a barrel-vaulted, coffered ceiling. The design of the main staircase was inspired by a sketch that White had created in his youth. Inspiration was also derived from the Golden Staircase in the Doge's Palace and the Scala Regia in the Apostolic Palace . The staircase was designed to resemble an ascent toward knowledge, as
12922-643: The majority vote was replaced with a point system. During that election, candidates were nominated to one of three categories (arts/humanities, sciences, and government/business/labor), and the highest-ranking candidate in each category was elected. Although no elections have taken place since then, the rules were changed in 1979 so that art, business and labor, government, humanities, and science were all split into their own categories. The following table summarizes each election: The first 50 names were supposed to represent "a majority" of people from 15 classes: These classifications have not been followed because
13064-435: The modern-day meaning of " celebrity ". Chancellor McCracken described the evolution of the Hall of Fame's design: While aesthetics compelled the architect to invent the terrace with its parapet of colonnade, the university's necessity compelled the discovery of an educational use for the architect's structure. Like most persons who have visited Germany, the chairman was acquainted with the "Ruhmes Halle," built near Munich by
13206-531: The next election. Edison's bust was unveiled in June 1961, while Thoreau's was unveiled the following May, the hundredth anniversary of his death. MacDowell's bust was not unveiled until October 1964. In addition, the Hall of Fame hired the Medallic Arts Company in 1963 to create bronze and silver medals for each of the honorees. The company created 99 different designs of medals. Orville Wright
13348-476: The northern gates, while the words "Take counsel here of Beauty, Wisdom, Power" are inscribed above the southern gates. The parapets are made of Massachusetts granite, while the pedestals and columns are made of Indiana limestone . The eight pedestals contain the inscriptions "The Hall of Fame / for Great Americans / by wealth of thought / or else by mighty deed / they served mankind / in noble character / in world-wide good / they live forevermore". The ceiling of
13490-402: The other side. The auditorium was designed so it could be converted into stacks if necessary. After the auditorium was damaged by arson in 1969, Marcel Breuer redesigned it in a brutalist style. Also in the basement were large fans, which generated warm air in winter and cool air in summer. The air was circulated throughout the building via flues on each story. What is now New York University
13632-472: The outer walls of the balcony, within the dome's drum. Another inscription in all capital letters, from the Book of Job , is placed above the drum and just beneath the dome. The dome is made of plaster and is divided into coffers, each with a rosette at its center. The coffers become progressively smaller near the highest point of the dome, above the middle of the room. The center of the dome originally contained
13774-505: The passageway. The second-level balcony contains an iron frame with a glass floor. The third-level balcony was decorated more ornately. Above the colonnades is a fourth-level balcony as well as the dome. On the reading room's north, west, and south walls were alcoves with stacks, as well as doorways leading to seminar rooms and staircases. Each of the alcoves contained three tiers of stacks, each measuring 7.5 ft (2.3 m) tall. The alcoves were all divided vertically into three bays. On
13916-404: The plans for the domed reading room and asked White to create alternate plans, a request to which White took offense. Hunt, who was hired to mediate the resulting dispute, sided with White. In mid-1895, MacCracken wrote a letter to White, requesting that the library be recessed behind the Hall of Languages. A groundbreaking ceremony for the library occurred on October 19, 1895, upon the dedication of
14058-631: The previous election had happened largely without fanfare and that the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission did not even mention the Hall of Fame in its reports. According to Charles Parks, leader of the National Sculpture Society , the Hall of Fame's decline could be attributed to the fact that modern halls of fame commemorated living people, honoring "lots of celebrities and very few heroes". In 1973, NYU sold its Bronx campus to
14200-405: The previous elections. An additional 21 electors either retired or died in the next five years, and only 34 of the original electors remained by 1920. The Hall of Fame was temporarily converted to a barracks in 1918, during World War I. The United States Army laid out beds for 600 soldiers in the museum underneath the colonnade. The next year, writer Robert Underwood Johnson was appointed as
14342-513: The reading room had been "declared by some critics to have no superiors outside of St. Paul's in Rome". Paul Goldberger described the library in 1984 as a "kind of pantheon , surrounded by the long, curving colonnade of one of the most remarkable places in New York". Three decades later, Christopher Gray of the Times described Gould as "full of brilliant flashes of excitement, like lightning bolts in
14484-500: The renovation would cost $ 50 million. One of the largest issues was the deteriorated condition of the drum, as the entire dome could collapse if the drum were not repaired. BCC began restoring the library in the early 2020s. Gould's dome and oculus were restored at a cost of $ 18.3 million, and an exit stair was added for $ 2 million; both projects were completed in May 2023. According to a 1921 article in The New York Times ,
14626-473: The required majority of fifty votes. In October 1900, the NYU Senate approved the first inductees for inclusion. The Senate also approved the addition of a loggia for foreign-born inductees, with space for up to thirty names. The hall included 29 names when it was dedicated on May 30, 1901; the foreign inductees' loggia had not yet been built due to a lack of funds. When the Hall of Fame was completed, it
14768-525: The rules for electors ahead of the 1915 election, such that one elector was apportioned to every state or group of states with one million residents. As a result of the United States' population growth, each state again had its own elector in later years. MacCracken canceled plans for a separate wing for foreign-born honorees in 1914, allowing foreign-born citizens to be inducted into the existing Hall of Fame. Four foreign-born men had been elected in 1905 and 1910, but they had never been inducted. In addition,
14910-402: The set for scenes in many movies: Hall of Fame for Great Americans The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is an outdoor sculpture gallery located on the grounds of Bronx Community College (BCC) in the Bronx , New York City . It was the first such hall of fame in the United States. Built in 1901 as part of the University Heights campus of New York University (NYU), the structure
15052-721: The seven female honorees because the existing tablets were wedged so firmly into the hall's foundation. NYU continued to unveil busts of honorees from previous elections in May of each year. Seven additional busts were dedicated in 1923, ten in 1924, and five in 1925. Only two men were picked in the 1925 election, the first held under the new rules; one of them was foreign-born naval officer John Paul Jones , who had first been elected twenty years prior. The university dedicated nine busts in 1926, six in 1927, five in 1928, and eight in 1929. Nine busts were dedicated in May 1930, as well as two sets of new gates. At that point, all 65 previous honorees had busts. Four men were elected to
15194-545: The small amount of Connemara marble available. After acquiring 16 columns for the Gould Library, White boasted that McKim had been unable to secure the same material for Columbia's library. The first event hosted at the library was a conference for the American Philological Association , which convened at Gould in July 1899. By the end of the year, the Gould Library was nearly complete; its construction had been delayed due to difficulties in securing
15336-411: The stacks on the third level are red, green, and blue Tiffany glass panels. The reading room's entrance was flanked by card catalog desks. The loan desk was in the second alcove, counting clockwise from the main entrance (on the patron's left when they entered). The loan desk contained an inscription of a Latin phrase. White designed furniture for the reading room, which is no longer extant. The furniture
15478-600: The state. Seven members of the Hall of Fame's board of electors were themselves elected. The following people were among those nominated at least once but not elected: Among nominees who were rejected, some never received any votes, including American Revolution militia officer Paul Revere . Several nominees have been rejected multiple times, including Roman Catholic saint Elizabeth Seton , poet Joyce Kilmer , and politician Horace Greeley . Many unsuccessful nominees received at least thirty votes in one election, and some surpassed this threshold in several elections. Some of
15620-415: The structure in 1900, and the Hall of Fame was formally dedicated on May 30, 1901. Soon after the Hall of Fame opened, it became a focal point for U.S. national pride. Originally, the hall only contained plaques honoring native-born U.S. citizens. The first bust was installed in 1907, and foreign-born citizens were inducted starting in 1915. The majority of the busts were sculpted between 1922 and 1930. Most of
15762-443: The time, it still had 10,000 annual visitors. That year, the Hall of Fame started electing honorees based on how many points they received from electors, rather than based on a majority vote. Clara Barton , Luther Burbank , and Andrew Carnegie were elected to the Hall of Fame the same year. This was the Hall of Fame's last election. Carver's bust was installed in 1977, four years after he had been elected, while Roosevelt's bust
15904-437: The top of the plateau. The building is about 30 ft (9.1 m) above Sedgwick Avenue , which runs directly to the west. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans runs to the west of the Gould Memorial Library, Hall of Languages, and Hall of Philosophy. The Hall of Fame, composed of a 630 ft-long (190 m) stone colonnade as well as a brick walkway, contains bronze portrait busts of prominent Americans. The Hall of Fame
16046-482: The university's total enrollment. Though the Bronx campus was the more prestigious of NYU's two campuses, its facilities were in dire need of upgrades. NYU announced a $ 75 million capital expansion plan for its campuses in 1961, including $ 1 million for a renovation and expansion of the Gould Library. The university started fundraising in 1964 and had obtained most of the necessary funds within three years. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated
16188-431: The upper landing of the main stairway, contained fireplaces and wood-paneled walls. The librarian's office contained white mahogany. The chancellor's room had an oiled maple floor, as well as San Domingo mahogany wainscoting. Above those were two cataloguing rooms on the second floor and the periodical and newspaper reading rooms on the third floor. Under the reading room was a 600-seat auditorium, which originally served as
16330-402: The windows is flanked by molded jambs and topped by entablatures . Above the building is a Composite-style cornice with antefixes . The top of the library contains a circular drum, above which is a saucer dome with an oculus at its center. There is also a composite frieze on the dome, decorated with garlands and pendants . The dome is covered with copper tiles. The lower section of
16472-408: The wisdom of the American people. Plans for the Hall of Fame finally proceeded after Helen Gould donated $ 100,000 in March 1900. John J. Tucker received the general contract for the Hall of Fame. The hall was to contain commemorative plaques for 150 individuals, 50 of whom were to be selected in 1900. Every five years thereafter, the electors would select five additional names by majority vote, with
16614-614: Was a growing need for more higher education facilities in the Bronx. Classes began at Hunter College , and later at the former site of the Bronx High School of Science . In 1973, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York acquired the University Heights campus from New York University (NYU), which had sold the campus under threat of imminent bankruptcy. Beginning that fall, the BCC moved its operations to
16756-519: Was absorbed by Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1973 but is once again part of NYU – and was created at a time when a number of prominent local universities had made the move to upper Manhattan and the Bronx in order to build bigger campuses, including Columbia University , and the City College of New York . The campus consists of a mix of Classical revival buildings designed by architect Stanford White in 1892–1901 – including
16898-431: Was also dedicated in 1907. The foreign-born honorees were not inducted at the time because MacCracken was planning a separate wing for them. Some electors protested that the foreign-born and native-born honorees should be honored together. Eleven additional names were selected in 1910. In the five years that followed, 20 electors either retired or died, and 25 electors were appointed in their place. MacCracken changed
17040-455: Was also used for exhibits in the mid-20th century, such as a display of printing mediums and a showcase of old maps of the Bronx. The James Arthur Museum of Clocks and Watches, which opened in the basement in 1950, operated for at least a decade. NYU built additional libraries in the 1950s, since the Gould Library could no longer accommodate all of NYU's collections. By the early 1960s, NYU's Bronx campus had 5,000 students, just over 10 percent of
17182-532: Was announced in February 1904. Separate elections were hosted for women and for foreign-born men. Every person who received at least ten votes in the 1900 election was re-nominated. Male nominees needed at least 51 votes; female nominees only required 47 votes because eight electors refused to vote for any woman. Five native-born men, three women, and three foreign-born men were selected that year; their plaques were dedicated in 1907. The Hall of Fame's first bust (depicting Horace Mann , who had been elected in 1900)
17324-425: Was deemed infeasible, as it would cost about the same as five new buildings, so NYU instead asked White to design a completely new campus. The campus was to contain science, language, and philosophy halls; a library; a chapel; and dormitories, all arranged around a quadrangle. Around the same time, MacCracken began raising money for the new campus. One of the donors to the new campus was railroad magnate Jay Gould , who
17466-577: Was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and was built between 1895 and 1898 as part of the New York University Libraries system. It was the centerpiece of NYU's Bronx campus. Since 1973, it has been part of the BCC campus. Gould no longer serves as the campus library; it has been superseded by the Bronx Community College Library , which opened in 2012. The library is shaped like
17608-459: Was designed by architect Stanford White to conceal a retaining wall for the Gould Memorial Library . The hall commemorates 102 prominent Americans, selected by a board of electors and grouped into one of fifteen categories. The physical structure consists of a loggia with colonnades measuring 630 feet (190 m) long. The colonnades contain niches with plaques and 96 bronze portrait busts . The philanthropist Helen Gould donated funds for
17750-453: Was designed for a practical purpose; for example, the legs of the chairs and tables had rubber tips to prevent screeching. The center of the room contained a circular table surrounded by twenty-four seats. Radiating from the center were eight long and eight short tables; the short tables seated four people, and the long tables seated eight people. This gave the reading room a seating capacity of 120. The Connemara-marble inner colonnade surrounds
17892-403: Was designed to conceal the Gould Memorial Library's foundation. The portion of the colonnade next to the library is circular in plan. West of the Hall of Fame is a fountain facing Sedgwick Avenue. To the east, a promenade cuts across BCC's quad . The promenade originally extended to Ohio Field , but a student center was built between the library and Ohio Field in 1953. The Gould Memorial Library
18034-450: Was enough, even achievement within a narrow context." Starting in the late 20th century, there was some controversy over the demographic breakdown of the Hall of Fame's honorees. A major issue was that, although a majority of BCC's students were Hispanic, few of the Hall of Fame's inductees were people of color or women. Though BCC president Roscoe C. Brown Jr. expressed pride for the hall's architecture, he said in 1993: "In terms of who
18176-546: Was exposed because the site sloped steeply downward to the west. According to MacCracken, the hall "owes its inception in large part to hard facts of physical geography". MacCracken took inspiration from the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) in Munich, Germany, completed in 1853. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was the first hall of fame in the United States. The word "fame" in the hall's name meant "renown", rather than
18318-511: Was finally selected for the Hall of Fame in 1965, along with Jane Addams , Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. , and Sylvanus Thayer . Four of the five remaining busts were dedicated in each of the three subsequent years. The first was Thayer's bust in 1966, followed by the Wright brothers' busts and then Addams's bust. The Hall of Fame did not dedicate Holmes's bust until 1970, five years after his election. The Hall of Fame remained prominent through
18460-480: Was founded in 1831; its original campus faced Washington Square Park in Manhattan . NYU was a small college with less than a hundred students for its first half-century. NYU's vice chancellor Henry MacCracken began looking for alternate sites in November 1890. The formerly residential area surrounding Washington Square Park had evolved into a commercial neighborhood by the late 19th century, and MacCracken believed
18602-402: Was increased in 1922. In addition, only people who had made a "major contribution to the economic, political, or cultural life of the nation" were considered for nomination. Originally, the public could make nominations during March and April of each election year; no nominations were accepted after May 1. By the 1950s, the nomination period lasted for an entire year. If a nominee received
18744-503: Was installed in the chancellors' office in 1932, following his retirement. The library's auditorium continued to host commencement ceremonies for students who were graduating with baccalaureate degrees . Starting with the 1943 ceremony, overflow seating was placed outside the library due to the growing number of guests at the annual ceremonies. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Gould Library also hosted pie-throwing contests to raise money for various student organizations. The library
18886-512: Was not installed for another fifteen years. The busts of Brandeis, Barton, Burbank, and Carnegie were never executed due to a lack of funds. Funding for the Hall of Fame ceased nearly entirely after the United States Bicentennial in 1976, and the agreement between NYU and CUNY expired around the same time. All of the hall's guides were fired and the hall's information booth was closed. Sightseeing buses stopped visiting
19028-402: Was originally part of New York University (NYU)'s campus. Since 1973, Gould has been part of Bronx Community College (BCC), operated by the City University of New York (CUNY). The library occupies a land lot whose official address is 1930 Sedgwick Avenue. The library is flanked by the Hall of Languages to the south and the Hall of Philosophy to the north. The three buildings are placed at
19170-414: Was part of the New York University Libraries system. The library is named after railroad magnate Jay Gould , whose daughter Helen Miller Shepard funded the project in his memory. Gould is no longer used as a library, instead serving primarily as an event space. Gould's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks , and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Gould
19312-485: Was rebuilt after an arson attack in 1969. After NYU sold its Bronx campus to CUNY in 1973, the Gould Library was converted into an event space, and the library fell into disrepair. The auditorium was restored in 2000, and the library was further refurbished in the early 21st century. The Gould Memorial Library is on a high plateau in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City . The plateau
19454-422: Was so widely known that The New York Times regularly reported on nominations and elections, even detailing how many votes each nominee received. The NYU Senate contemplated hosting a special election in 1902 to fill the 21 vacancies, but it reneged on this plan. Instead, the electors had to select 26 native-born men during the 1905 election, as well as 12 women and six foreign-born men. A women's hall of fame
19596-421: Was split between NYU, which owned the busts; the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), which owned the colonnade; and CUNY, which provided security and maintenance. In 1979, there was one staff member and no funds for maintenance. Many of the busts corroded in the following years. Some busts were also vandalized, such as that of Andrew Jackson , which was knocked out of its niche and pushed down
19738-494: Was the first such hall of fame in the United States. The Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , was also designed by Stanford White, and was established to honor prominent Americans who have had a significant impact on the country's history. It includes bronze busts of Alexander Graham Bell , Eli Whitney , and George Westinghouse along with many others. The Hall has not had any new inductees since 1976. Bronx Community College teams participate as
19880-401: Was thus ineligible for nomination until the 1970s. NYU's senate waived the 25-year requirement for Orville Wright, allowing him to be nominated during the 1960 election. Thomas Edison , Henry David Thoreau , and Edward MacDowell were elected to the Hall of Fame in 1960. Ten people, including Orville Wright, failed to get a sufficient number of votes and were automatically re-nominated for
20022-604: Was to fit 1,000 students. The only stipulation of the gift was that the donor remain anonymous. The donor was Jay Gould's daughter Helen Miller Shepard , whose name was mentioned in the New-York Tribune in relation with a separate $ 20,000 gift for NYU's dormitories. Shepard was not publicly revealed as the donor until several years later, in December 1898. The library donation was part of $ 1.39 million in capital gifts that Shepard gave to NYU throughout her lifetime. As
20164-589: Was willing to fund the new campus but died at the end of 1892. White was formally hired to design NYU's new Bronx campus in November 1893, at the same time his partner Charles Follen McKim was hired to design the rival Columbia University campus in Morningside Heights, Manhattan . The banker Jacob Schiff had proposed that the two colleges merge, so he could give a large endowment to the combined colleges. Officials from both colleges ultimately rejected this proposal. By February 1894, White had outlined
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