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The basement through floor thirty-six are used for educational purposes. These range from theaters, computer labs, and classrooms to departmental officies. It is in this building that the philosophy department, regularly considered one of the top five in the world [1], is housed. Other departments are held in the Cathedral, including the English and Religious Studies officies. Additionally, the University Honors College is located on the 36th floor. Floors 37-42 are closed off to the general public, as they are used rarely. Originally, they housed accounting departments, but are currently used as ballrooms and dining rooms for special events.
In 1921, John Gabbert Bowman traveled to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to become the tenth chancellor of the University. At that time, the school consisted of a series of short, small buildings, with some classes being held in "temporary" buildings from World War I. The story goes that as he entered the city, he asked a streetcar driver to take him to the University. When that driver had no idea what he was talking about, Bowman decided he had to do something to make sure the University made an impression on the city. He then began to envision what would be called the Cathedral of Learning.
His reasoning is summarized in this quote: "The building was to be more than a schoolhouse; it was to be a symbol of the life that Pittsburgh through the years had wanted to live. It was to make visible something of the spirit that was in the hearts of pioneers as, long ago, they sat in their log cabins and thought by candlelight of the great city that would sometime spread out beyond their three rivers and that even they were starting to build."
In attempting to find a suitable place for this building, Bowman's eyes were drawn to a 14 acre (57,000 mē) plot of land named Frick Acres. In November of 1921, with aid from the Mellon family, the University bought the plot, and began plans for a proper university building on the site.
One of the foremost GothicBesides its original meaning, "of or relating to the Goths, a Germanic tribe" and thus the Gothic language and the Gothic alphabet, and aside from its Early Modern connotations of "rough, barbarous," the word Gothic has been used since the 18th century to architectAn architect is a person licensed in the art of planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings, or more generally, the designer of a scheme or plan. See architecture or landscape architecture Architects and landscape architects are consis of the time, Philadelphian Charles KlauderCharles Klauder was an American architect known for his work on university buildings. Born on February 9, 1872, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Klauder worked on both the University of Pittsburgh's campus and Penn State University's. Klauder, Charles., was hired to build the tower. The design took two years to finish, with the final plan attempting to fuse the idea of a modern skyscraperTaipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper by roof height on high rise. What is the chief characteristic of the tall office building? It is lofty. It must be tall. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and pride of exaltation must be in with the tradition and ideals of Gothic architecture. The plans received strong resistance from the community and from some University officials, who felt it was too tall for the city.
Local legend states that to counteract this resistance Bowman ordered that the construction of the walls would start at the top floor and work their way down, so the project could not be canceled. Actually, this was practical, as the exterior walls are not load bearing in skyscrapers. This means that they do not hold weight, so the walls can be built at any time. Building the top walls first allows for ease of movement of materials and construction equipment during the construction.
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