Today, I was engaged in two separate conversations about a subject very near and dear to the hearts of many WashU students, that being the beautiful Gothic and Tudor-Revival architecture that we find around campus. To an outsider, it may be surprising why such a subject is so salient and commonly discussed, however, to any student who has experienced this architecture it should be obvious why it is so impactful. While beauty is something that (to quote a hymn by Bortniansky) “the tongue cannot express,” as it is (to some degree) a way in which we comprehend grace, there are some points that illuminate why WashU’s architecture matters.
First of all, objective beauty exists and Gothic architecture is objectively beautiful. It is genuinely pleasant to walk around Mudd Field and observe the architecture of Graham Chapel, McMillan Hall, and the Women’s Building. These buildings are not garish in their proportions, they are decorated, but not in an over-the-top manner, and their materials (stone, brick, and mortar) appear almost organic and are harmonious with the nature around them, as opposed to steel and concrete.
Gothic architecture provides a connection between ourselves and the past. Ralph Adams Cram, who popularized the Collegiate Gothic style (neo-Gothic architecture applied to a collegiate setting) did so deliberately to connect the universities of America and those of Europe, in particular Oxford and Cambridge. As America was still an up-and-coming state, and its universities were not as highly regarded as those of the Old World, Cram wanted to show Americans that they were part of a civilization larger than themselves and that we should therefore uphold the highest academic standards that we have received. Furthermore, Cram also viewed the preservation of America’s liberty and constitution as dependent on remembering that our freedom and constitution come from us through the tradition of Judeo-Christian Natural Law and English Common Law.
In this sense, WashU’s architecture is profoundly conservative and anti-modern. This is for multiple reasons. As Cram correctly believed, Gothic architecture links us to the Old World and the traditions of Western Civilization, and thus is a helpful teaching tool to educate future generations about the civilization that we have received, and which it is our duty to pass on. Secondly, the objective and real beauty of Gothic architecture stands in stark contrast to the ugly monstrosities built today, which helps show the cultural decline that has increasingly afflicted the Western world. Contemporary society does not often build in beautiful styles, such as Gothic, because our culture has forgotten, in its quest for modernity and progress, that beauty exists. However, people still know that it exists. Ask any WashU student their opinion on the modern and ugly Kemper Museum compared to Brookings Hall, and they will tell you that Brookings is more beautiful. While most people do not connect this juxtaposition to the issue of cultural decline, this juxtaposition is a very helpful primer in opening up people to conservative ideas, as it demonstrably refutes the Whiggish idea that everything, including architecture, is always “progressing.”
While as students it can be hard to stop for a moment and appreciate what we have around us, I strongly recommend, especially now that the weather has improved, to stop and appreciate our Gothic architecture. We are extraordinarily fortunate and blessed to have such buildings around, and they truly evoke the best parts of the spirit of WashU.