Disaster Strikes!
On April 18, 1906 the Great San Francisco Earthquake struck, leaving
hundreds of buildings in ruins and cities in flames. On the Stanford
University campus, dozens of sandstone and brick buildings were damaged,
two men were killed, and students camped out in tents outside their
dormitories.
The University launched a lengthy rebuilding campaign: it took nearly a decade to complete the repairs.
Four major landmarks on the campus were dismantled and not
reconstructed: the soaring steeple of Memorial Church, the monumental
Memorial Arch, the Library and the Men's Gymnasium.
Men's Gynmasium After 1906 Earthquake
The ruined concrete foundations of the Library and Gymnasium remained
visible on the surface for decades, before finally disappearing under a
grove of trees and wild grasses in a quiet corner of the campus near
Frost Amphitheater.
This
overhead photograph taken in 1931 shows the foundation wall foot print
of the Men's Gymnasium. Its front entrance faced the Art Museum and
Museum Way provided a convenient avenue between the two structures.
In
2007, Stanford announced plans for a new performing arts precinct in
the neighborhood of Memorial Hall and Frost Amphitheater. The former
site of the Men's Gymnasium was selected for a new concert hall. The
ruin of the Men's Gymnasium will be partially destroyed by construction
of the concert hall.
Additional Earthquake Photographs
http://quake06.stanford.edu/centennial/
|
