Yale University Sterling Memorial Library Photo © Christopher Gardner

Yale University Sterling Memorial Library Nave (Photography by Brian Rose)

English Gothic architecture, which had its origins in medieval 11th century religious institutions, had become popular in America in themid-to-late 1800s for universities as well as churches. This Gothic Revival is not surprising, considering the close affiliation to religion that many, if not most colleges, then had. By the early 20th century the style had evolved into what would be called Collegiate Gothic, featuring structures that looked as old and eminently prestigious as medieval Cambridge and Oxford universities in England, but were more adapted to life at university in the early to mid-20th century.     

Collegiate Gothic buildings were often designed to appear weathered and aged— solid, permanent, reliable. Characteristics might include structures of fieldstone and sometimes brick with white limestone wash, steep gabled roofs, dormers, and leaded glass. Also present would be tall Gothic arches, recessed entrances—perhaps with stone moldings and carvings—roofs with spires, dormers, crenellations, plasterwork, gargoyles, or other stone ornamentation. Advantageously for several universities, especially Yale University, James Gamble Rogers was a master practitioner of the style.

Among examples are Yale's campus symbol and focal point, Harkness Tower, and the strikingly beautiful Sterling Memorial Library. He also designed university buildings for Northwestern University's Evanston Campus, notably the Collegiate Gothic Deering Library and most all of the University buildings at the Northwestern campus in Chicago. Additionally, he designed the neoclassical Butler Library at Columbia University in New York City to maintain the look of the existing buildings.

Yale University Memorial Quadrangle – Harkness Tower and Sterling Memorial Library

Born in Kentucky, James Gamble Rogers grew up in a northern suburb of Chicago. One of his neighbors was an architect who would later prove to be helpful to his career. Rogers enrolled at Yale University in 1885—and while there, gained a lifelong friend, fellow student Edward Harkness, who would become his greatest architectural benefactor —and who was largely responsible for the course of Rogers' architectural future. Edward was the son and heir of Stephen V. Harkness, who had been a highly successful investor in the early days of Standard Oil Company.  While at Yale Rogers was exposed to the Collegiate Gothic style through the university's existing buildings and the broader cultural emphasis on Gothic Revival architecture in academic settings.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1889, Rogers had the opportunity to travel to Europe with a Yale group. The medieval and Gothic structures he encountered in Europe, particularly in England, likely inspired his adoption of the Collegiate Gothic style for American universities. When he returned to the United States, his architect neighbor arranged for him to join the architecture and engineering firm of William LeBaron Jenney, a pioneering skyscraper architect. After a short stint at another architectural firm, Rogers returned to France in 1892 and enrolled at École des Beaux-Arts where he was exposed to a variety of architectural styles and received his certification as an Architect in 1898.           

Back in the United States again, in about 1906 or so, after completing several other successful projects, he went to New York and formed an architectural partnership, which after several changes, eventually became the architectural firm, RBSD, still in existence today, over a century later.

Not all of his college designs were Collegiate Gothic. In 1933, Rogers would plan Davenport College at Yale with a Collegiate Gothic facade but inside the gates is revealed an elegant red brick Georgian style building he'd designed to be reminiscent of the red brick buildings on the original 1750 campus.

Five years later, he designed the granite-faced Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College in New London for benefactor, Mary Harkness. According to Daniel Sterner 's blog Historic Buildings of Connecticut, Rogers termed the style of the chapel, "colonial Georgian."
                              
Rogers first building at Yale was the Harkness Tower, underwritten by Anna Harkness as a memorial to her son Charles, who had recently died. From 1917 to 1921, Rogers completed the Tower in Collegiate Gothic style, inspired by a spectacular 15th century church tower in Lincolnshire England. The impressive stone block masonry tower of 216 feet was part of the original Memorial Quadrangle that Rogers had designed. In appreciation for his work, Rogers was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree.

The Tower eventually had to be reinforced with concrete in 1966 when additional carillion bells were added to the original ten. Today, the Tower, symbol of Yale University and its focal point, contains the 54-bell Yale Memorial Carillon and a memorial chapel at the base of the building. The Tower later became part of Branford College when the residential college system and the Memorial Quadrangle renovation, over which Rogers presided, were finally established in 1933.  
                                                                                                                                                             
In the 1920s, Edward Harkness, who had thought the setup of the English-style residential colleges at Oxford and Cambridge would be of benefit to students, offered to underwrite a similar system at Yale. The university president procrastinated on a decision, so Edward took his offer to Harvard, where it was quickly accepted. Yale University then asked Harkness to renew his offer. In 1930, Edward Harkness agreed to fund nine residential colleges at Yale and insisted that Rogers be retained to design them.

Another magnificent building that Rogers designed for Yale University is the Sterling Library, (1930) funded by a bequest of attorney John W. Sterling, an 1864 Yale graduate. An outstanding feature of Rogers' Collegiate Gothic buildings is the exquisite ornamentation he specified, and the measures he took to ensure they looked as if they'd been in place for hundreds of years. Sterling Library exemplifies his attention to the smallest detail. From gilding, to wood carving, plasterwork, sculpture and painting, nothing seemed too minute to escape his attention. 

Yale Manuscripts & Archives Library cleaning test patch and Yale Sterling Memorial Library untreated patch left behind for future study after cleaning.

According to John Canning of John Canning & Co., who completed a major restoration project for Sterling Library in 2013-2014,  "James Gamble Rogers designed these interiors and finishes to be purposely aged and historic. He went to great lengths/extremes, to achieve this aged effect, giving precise instructions for every detail."  Some of the directions to achieve his design intent of making his buildings look old as if they had been here for centuries included: bricks from demolished buildings and stone from various sources were incorporated into buildings to achieve the look of weathering and wear through the ages, using mismatched stained glass to draw ones attention to the repairs, and grinding down stone pavement and treads to suggest wear resulting from centuries of foot traffic. His intent for painted decoration contained deliberate variations in color washes, finished with rotten stone to achieve an aged patina. Roger’s twist can be summed up with “everything new is old again.”

The brilliant ornamentation Rogers specified both inside and out, still inspire awe to this day. These details, on ceilings, interior and exterior walls, and floors—included gilding, decorative painting and plasterwork, as well as stone and wood carvings and special finishes. His drawings and collected examples of what he wanted contain exacting instructions about how that work was to be accomplished.

However, through the years, the buildings have needed updating and altering, cleaning, repair, and perhaps consolidating to suit new requirements. Some of these changes even occurred while Rogers was still designing new buildings, as with the Memorial Quadrangle renovation in 1933. Though he designed a large number of buildings at Yale University, apparently Rogers' favorite building there was Trumbull College (1929), inspired by King's College, Cambridge. 
 
This maintenance and modernization requires careful attention to the project at hand and an immense amount of research and expertise. Are the materials available to Rogers in 1930 available today? What was the makeup of the plaster used? Did a cleaning method or substance used thirty years ago destroy any paint, plasterwork or gilding; was anything painted over at one time that should be revealed today? What did the ornamentation, painting or carving look like at the time it was produced?

Before any surface is touched, thorough research and analysis is the necessary foundation for successful conservation, restoration, and repair. The John Canning Company approach to historic preservation is philosophically and practically rooted in researching, understanding, and acting to achieve the intent of the original designers and craftsmen. When we conduct research and prepare reports on historic finishes and materials, or conditions assessments and treatment recommendations for plaster, stone, metal, and other finishes, we not only present results of what we “see,” but also include what we cannot see but might expect. We take the same approach when working with reports provided to us.

Narthex of the Sterling Memorial Library, showing level at dirt at top that needed to be addressed, mid-area is a result of specified cleaning methods and bottom area is a result of the John Canning & Co. cleaning system.

During our work at Yale University, the Roger’s specifications provided how the finishes should be cleaned, but the cleaning materials and methods specified was unsuccessful. This led to John Canning & Co. developing a more effective method that would remove the dirt without damaging the original finishes. As we often need to do when it comes to conservation cleaning, we developed a customized unique aqueous cleaning solution to unlock and solubilize the dirt painted texture surfaces. This cleaning agent formula is only known by John Canning and David Riccio. Depending on the textures, we would use the solution in a gel form or a poultice to get the best results.  Over the almost 50 years working in the preservation field and at the many dozens of projects at Yale University, John Canning & Co. has become an expert in the finishes and techniques of James Gamble Roger and what is required to conserve, repair and restore his unique aged effect finishes.

With regard to the architecture of James Gamble Rogers, surely it could be said that another element of the "fortunate conjunctions of people, time, and place" would be John Canning & Co.—to help preserve the details and elements of those buildings that make them so special.

James Gamble Rogers died in 1947, at 80, leaving a brilliant architectural heritage, his college buildings imbued with a sense of history, a sense of place, of permanence, and of beauty.