something about main library

-- from UBC Archives

今天 K 完書，為了要先看考場
(逼不得已...我不要當天早上 8:30 跑錯地方 XD)

實在是被分到已經在 UBC 呆了 3 年還沒聽過的地方

所以不得不去瞧瞧 >> LASK...no, 不是 LSK

路過 main library 就順便照了幾張

不過發現一些有趣的東西 =]



案件 1: 石像上為什麼刻著 evolution?

Entranceway Carvings

David Brock, in Scrapbook for a Golden Anniversary: The University of British Columbia Library, 1915-1965, pointed out one of the Library's unique architectural features:

"Slightly above and a little to each side of the main door there are two little carvings, left there as a private joke by the stonemasons. They are not very big, and they are in low relief, and your eye does not normally seek out that part of the entrance anyway. But hundreds and thousands of us know that they are there...One carving represents a Fundamentalist and is labelled FUNDA....The other carving shows a kind of ape, and it labelled EVOL. And thus the visitor can tell, even now, that these carvings were made while the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, was hot news. In other words, in 1925.

案件 2: 為什麼有 1925 刻在頂端?

Construction

A small publication entitled Buildings and Equipment of the University of British Columbia (1925) described the recently-completed Library as:

"....a massive structure of two stories and a basement built of British Columbia granite. The style is late Tudor, modernized. The entrance floor is devoted to offices, and to the Burnett collection which represents the arts, handicraft and weapons of Polynesia. The floors of the Main Entrance Hall, of the staircases and of the Concourse are finished with large marbled rubber tiles which harmonize with the general colour scheme, and ensure quietness in the principle parts of the building."

案件 3: ever noticed the pretty Hogwarts-like stained glass?

Stained Glass Window

Although the idea of a stained glass window for the area above the front stairwells leading to the concourse had first been discussed in 1924, the project did not come to fruition for several years. In 1927, funds provided by an anonymous donor allowed work to proceed on the Canadian Jubilee Memorial window (below), which marked Canada's first 60 years of nationhood.

Unveiled by B.C. Premier S.F. Tolmie on November 28th, 1928, the nine panels of stained glass included the Dominion coat of arms, flanked by those of the other eight provinces. University architects Sharp and Thompson prepared the original plans for the window, and the design was later modified by the Bromsgrove Guild of Montreal and University Librarian John Ridington. The contract for the work was given to the Canadian branch of the guild in Montreal and the work was executed in England. Final costs for the project was $1,600.

More information/photos can be found @ UBC Archives

以上的小發現希望不是我多此一舉 XD

(沒辦法...還來不急看到舊的 main library 就已經被拆了 Orz)

ps. 不知道為什麼到了 final blog 會更新特別快....考前症候群?