Rackham Graduate School
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
T HE H ORACE H. RACKHAM S CHOOL OF G RADUATE S TUDIES University of Michigan - 0 The Rackham Building’s exterior walls are of Indiana limestone, with bronze frames for the windows and doors, and the distinctive roof is of weathered copper. The overall dimensions of the structure, exclusive of terraces, are 196 by 250 feet, five stories in height. Rackham was built in an age when expert crafts- men were still readily available. Elements such as the sculpted forms of the building’s facade, the exquisite bronze window casings and the relief work in the building’s interior are the work of Corrado Parducci, an architectural sculptor trained in his native Italy. ii D Across the front of the building the seven general divisions of the Graduate School are exemplified in five allegorical figures above the great second- story windows and in two figures on the balconies to either side. The figures, from west to east, represent Museums, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, Languages and Literatures, Biological Sciences, Health Sciences, and Fine Arts. Front cover: Detail of the ceiling above the stage in the Rackham Auditorium (also known as the Lecture Hall). This is the room’s focal point, with its over- lapping and radiating bands of gold converging in an intricate semicircle of ornate classic shapes and forms. Elements from this design are repeated throughout the building. - 0 “FOR THE B ENEFIT OF M ANKIND…” * Welcome to the Horace H. Rackham School Rackham was designed in 1935 to connect faculty and of Graduate Studies of the 21st century. From graduate students in their joint pursuits of knowledge. What 1999–2002 we engaged in a massive restoration has evolved over the years—with the building at its heart—is project—the first since the building opened in a worldwide partnership of students, faculty, staff, alumni and 1938—to return Rackham’s interior to a close approximation supporters, all of whom are connected by their shared pursuit of its original beauty, while at the same time renovating its of excellence in all areas of human knowledge and its applica- infrastructure to make the building truly functional in the new tion. It is by that sharing of intellect, energies, and resources millennium. that members of the Rackham community can extend their In the following pages you will see colorful photographs of academic connections into a lifelong, worldwide network for the building’s public rooms, where restoration is now complete. development, enlightenment, personal and professional Countless people have given of their time and talent to restore involvement, and mutual support. 1 these spaces, replicating wherever feasible their original décor. The Rackham Graduate School of the 21st century now D As you look through this booklet, you will readily see why the stands ready to nurture and sustain this worldwide network. Rackham Graduate School truly is one of the University of As you view the building’s public rooms, we hope you will feel Michigan’s architectural treasures, held in trust for future gener- a new sense of appreciation, not only for what the Horace H. ations of scholars. Rackham School of Graduate Studies is, an architectural and You will also find in this booklet a description of what was decorative treasure of considerable merit, but also for what it done to renovate Rackham’s infrastructure. While you may not represents—the future. notice these improvements, they stand nevertheless as the foun- dation of what enables this building to function on behalf of graduate students, faculty and graduate education generally. *From the memorial tribute to Horace Rackham by Professor John G. Angell - 0 lobby For many years the walls of the lobby were painted gray, dictating a chilly color scheme. As part of the restoration project, the gray has been replaced with a warm gold shade which brings out the detail in the beautiful ceil- ing. Lobby tables, benches and desks have also been restored, and plasma screens have been installed on each side of the lobby to provide information about events taking place in the building. Additional touches include the installation of a new 3 building directory and signage consistent D with the building’s décor. “Three entrance doors of bronze and glass open into an entrance hall 31 by 109 feet, with a floor of green and purple-gray slate laid in a rectangular pattern. The plaster walls are painted a Pompeian red, with black marble base and trim, while a beamed ceiling in blue green with stenciled decorations in polychrome and gold recalls the gold and bronze of the lighting fixtures on the walls. Tables of ebonized wood and benches of the same material with decorative details, blue-green leather cushions harmonize with the lobby three pairs of blue-leather, bronze-studded doors leading to the lecture hall.” william e. kapp, architect, 1938 ➣ entrance lobby, main floor - 0 stairways to the second floor The neutral color of the walls above the stairs has been replaced with a contrasting blue-green shade of paint that enhances the color of the stairways of travertine (a light-colored form of limestone). Work will begin short- ly for murals on the walls of each landing. D4 west stairway decorative details, west stairway H ORACE AND M ARY R ACKHAM orace H. Rackham was a coun- By the mid-1890’s Rackham had formed try boy who came to the city, a partnership with John W. Anderson. Hstudied law at night, and died In 1903 the firm was chosen to draw up a multimillionaire. He was born on July the papers of incorporation for the Ford 27, 1858 in Harrison Township, Macomb Motor Company. In return for their work, County, Michigan. His father, Simon the partners were each paid a legal fee of Rackham, a retired English sea captain, $50 and offered the opportunity to invest was a farmer. His mother, Ann Avery in the new company. Rackham, with the Rackham, was a devout Baptist. He aid of a loan, purchased 50 shares of stock, attended a one-room district school in becoming one of the original twelve share- Harrison Township and the Union holders and a member of the company’s School at Mount Clemens. His family Board of Directors. later moved to Ingham County where, In 1913, at the age of 55, Horace 5 at age 20 Rackham graduated from Leslie Rackham retired to look after his fortune, High School. and from then on, it was said, he made In 1879, Rackham moved to Detroit, philanthropy on a vast scale his chief where he held several jobs. In 1881 he interest in life. When Henry and Edsel began studying law at night, and on Ford bought out the other shareholders June 4, 1884 he was admitted to the in 1919, Rackham had already received Michigan Bar. $2 million in dividends on his investment, On November 11, 1886 Horace and the sale of his 1,000 shares of stock married Mary A. Horton of Fenton, brought him an additional $12.5 million. Michigan. The Hortons were a promi- A cautious man with an innate distaste for nent family in the area, and Mary’s father gambling, Rackham distrusted the vagaries had settled in the village in 1859. Mary of the stock market and so emerged from was educated beyond high school at a the Great Depression unscathed. finishing school in North Carolina, continued next page where she studied music. H ORACE AND M ARY R ACKHAM Great wealth appeared to have had Horace Rackham died in Ann Arbor virtually no effect on the Rackhams’ life- on June 13, 1933. As the Detroit Free styles, and throughout their lives they Press reported at the time of his death, remained quiet and private people. “His few close friends…knew him as a Horace once said, “I love the small town, kindly, humorous companion, skilled in and the small town people. They talk his own profession, and deeply interested my language.” in all human affairs. Most of them knew The Rackhams had a strong sense of something of his public gifts, but few of social responsibility and supported many them guessed their extent.” charitable organizations. In 1922 they 6 began making large anonymous donations Adapted from: to the University of Michigan in aid of Biography of an Endowment by Marjorie Cahn scholarship, and over the next decade Brazer, commissioned by the Rackham Board of their gifts to the University exceeded Governors, University of Michigan, 1985. $600,000. Some of these gifts were used The Rackham Funds of The University of Michigan to support classical and archeological 1933-1953 by Sheridan W. Baker, Jr., Ann Arbor, research, enabling the University to University of Michigan, 1955. amass one of the finest collections of Greek and Coptic papyri in the world. In quite a different vein they supported One of the five allegorical figures above the great three consecutive visiting Fellows in the second-story windows on the building’s facade. Creative Arts, the first of whom was American poet Robert Frost. reading room The extensive wood wain- scoting in the Reading Room has been cleaned and treated, and the plaster of the walls and ceiling repaired. A fresh coat of paint and new draperies throughout the main room and its two alcoves have restored the area to its original beauty. “On the south front and center of the [second floor]…is a study hall, 31 by 105 feet, 34 feet high, with five great windows facing the mall. At either end of this room are the book alcove (west end) and the periodical D7 alcove (east end), each measuring 22 by 40 feet, 21 feet high.” “The study hall is carpeted in a large- scale figure, and the color of the 12-foot wain- scot of Appalachian oak in a medium brown is continued in a lighter tone to the ceiling.