Universities with Gothic architecture

College Search & Selection
21

<p>I have heard the term “Academic Gothic” applied to various schools’ architecture.</p>

<p>And the correct description is “inspired by” not “fake”.</p>

22

<p>I think people are confusing “Gothic” with “Gothic-styled” or “Gothic-inspired”</p>

<p>You will find absolutely ZERO gothic architecture in the United States, though you will find plenty of Gothic-styled or Goth-inspired architecture.</p>

<p>If you would like to attend an English-speaking university that has Gothic architecture, you have two options, both of which have already been listed.</p>

23

<p>Hillary 2012, I looked at your screen name and immediately assumed you wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2012 Presidential Election. Then I realized no such Election exists. Then I realized your name’s just probably Hillary. Then I was slightly disappointed.</p>

24

<p>University of Richmond ~ which I might add is a beautiful campus.</p>

25

<p>You will find absolutely ZERO gothic architecture in the United States, though you will find plenty of Gothic-styled or Goth-inspired architecture.</p>

<p>If you would like to attend an English-speaking university that has Gothic architecture, you have two options, both of which have already been listed. </p>

<p>Ok, smarty pants, EXACTLY what are the architectural styles of Notre Dame and Kenyon?</p>

<p>Also, I went to the U of St Andrews for a year of grad studies, and there is precious little Gothic-type architecture there.</p>

26

<p>Cornell too</p>

27

<p>Reed College.</p>

28

<p>I disagree with jarsilver. There are some gargoyles I understand, but its largely red brick structures detract from any potentially neogothic elements.</p>

29

<p>In the U.S. it’s got to be Bryn Mawr—the school that first developed the architectural style that came to be known as “American Collegiate Gothic” and was widely imitated elsewhere. Yes, it’s an imitation of Oxford and Cambridge. But in a sense it’s a distinctive architectural style of its own that blends Gothic elements with contemporary needs. And truth be told, a good deal of the “Gothic” architecture at Oxford and Cambridge is more recent amendments of the core Gothic elements to serve contemporary needs. So let’s not be so purist. In the U.S. Bryn Mawr pioneered the form and still has many of the classic instantiations. Others imitated Bryn Mawr more than Cambridge or Oxford.</p>

30

<p>Reed calls itself “Tudor Gothic” here (describing the original two main buildings):</p>

<p>[Reed</a> College | Facilities & Grounds | Eliot Hall](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/facilities_and_grounds/buildings/eliot.html]Reed”>http://www.reed.edu/facilities_and_grounds/buildings/eliot.html)</p>

31

<br>

<br>

<p>I think the point being made is that true or real Gothic architecture was confined to the medieval period. And since there were no Europeans or descendants of Europreans in the New World in medieval times, no American architecture can, by definition, be truly Gothic but rather is faux-Gothic, or imitation Gothic, or inspired by Gothic, or whatever. </p>

<p>Notre Dame or Kenyon have “Gothic” archtecture in the same sense Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas has “Roman” archtecture or Luxor has “Egyptian.” Oxford and Cambridge have true Gothic buidlings, but US colleges missed the genuine Gothic era by several centuries.</p>

32

<p>Ok, for the tenth time…I GET the whole REAL-Gothic-has-to-be-in-this-timeframe stuff. What I’m saying is that this <a href=“http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/c3/34/university-of-notre-dame.jpg[/url]”>http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/c3/34/university-of-notre-dame.jpg&lt;/a&gt; doesn’t seem to fall into the category of Gothic-ish, Gothic-Inspired, Sorta-Gothic, Gothic-Ripoff, Quasi-Gothic, Fake-Gothic, or Neo-Gothic. It looks like something that doesn’t have anything to do with Gothic, and I’m asking what that thing is.</p>

33

<p>That is a very strange building, but I’m obsessed with architecture so I’ll take a shot at classification. The lower house is fairly nondescript but the arch over the window, style of the windows themselves and the roof does seem reminiscent of gothicism. However, the structure above/behind the house is overwhelmingly neoclassical. The golden dome, the statue on the top, the columns, etc., etc., all resembles what might find in an ancient roman temple (hence the “neo” prefix). The campus with the most perfect example of neoclassicism, I would say, is certainly columbia university. Additionally, neoclassicism was very popular in the united states during the colonial period, hence the neoclassicism of UVA, which, of course, was founded by Mr. Jefferson, a loyal neoclassicist (Cf. monticello).</p>

<p>Wow, I’m a nerd.</p>

34

<p>The University of Glasgow.</p>

35

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, but the term “Gothic” has multiple meanings. One meaning refers to a specific medieval time period, and more specifically to the architectural style that prevailed in that period, especially in cathedrals and other grand structures. But an equally accepted usage of the term refers to a larger family of architectural styles inspired by, and incorporating design elements typical of, the original medieval Gothic. Sometimes called 'Gothic revival" or “neo-Gothic,” this architectural style emerged in England in the 1800s and spread from there to the Continent. Many famous “Gothic” structures in Britain and on the European continent—including some of the colleges at Oxford, the British Houses of Parliament, the facade of the Florence cathedral, and even many of the architectural details of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, are in fact neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival.</p>

<p>American Collegiate Gothic is a distinct collegiate architectural style within the broader Gothic Revival family that emerged at Bryn Mawr and Columbia in the late 19th Century and was widely adopted elsewhere. It is not a mistake to call it “Gothic” so long as we understand which sense of the term we’re using.</p>

36

<p>^^Well, then I guess it’s not a mistake to call Caesar’s Palace architecture “Roman” or Luxor’s architecture “Egyptian” so long as we understand which sense of the term we’re using.</p>

37

<p>^ Rather different, I’m afraid. Look, Gothic Revival architecture has been around for a good two centuries now and has produced some very distinguished buildings. Westminster Palace, for example, is one of the most memorable edifices in the world and a global icon. You can’t say the same about Caesar’s Palace which is all about cheap rip-off kitsch. Yet one couldn’t really describe the architecture of Westminster without using the term “Gothic.” It’s not “faux Gothic” or “imitation Gothic” or “Gothic rip-off.” It’s Gothic Revival, or in the vernacular “Gothic,” and rather tastefully and well done. “Gothic” is a recognized and accepted term in the world of serious architecture. It may not be much in fashion these days, but I don’t think any serious architect or architecture critic could deny that Gothic Revival in its many forms—including, not least, American Collegiate Gothic—represents a major movement in architecture, one that has had a lasting and substantial influence. The same can’t be said of the likes of Caesar’s Palace.</p>

<p>That’s not to say all American Collegiate Gothic is well done, of course. But where it is, as at Bryn Mawr, it’s something to behold—a genuine work of art, and a national treasure.</p>

38

<br>

<br>

<p>Which is the whole point. Many “Gothic” campuses are every bit as full of rip-off architectural kitsch as Caesar’s Palace and were built only a few decades earlier. (E.g. Yale’s “Gothic” look dates from the 1930s. Caesar’s Palace dates from the 1960s). Yet somehow they get away with calling themselves “Gothic” (or people on CC do it for them) because they are colleges. If you took exactly the same buildings and put casinos and stage shows inside instead of classroooms, no one would dream of holding them up as examples of “Gothic” architecture. They’d be viewed as the cheesy kitsch that they actually are,</p>

39

<p>Um, I wouldn’t call Yale “architectural kitsch.” It seems to me that you are making the argument that examples to collegiate neogothicism aren’t somehow good enough to be dignified with the designation of “gothic.” Gothicism isn’t a status a building reaches after a certain period of time or when it achieves a certain level of taste, but a word to charactorizes a set of shared aesthetic elements. </p>

<p>This is a stupid argument. Just sayin’</p>

40

<p>Here’s a pic of the new natural sciences building at Yale: [Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/d/633-3/caesars_lobby.jpg[/url]”>http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/d/633-3/caesars_lobby.jpg](<a href=“http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/d/633-3/caesars_lobby.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/lasvegas/lasvegas2005/caesars_lobby.jpg.html&usg=__h4SMN0bSew7CJblaMBnpWxGoPSc=&h=900&w=656&sz=194&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=JLVoMiI5Etl9ZM:&tbnh=146&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcaesars%2Bpalace%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26rlz%3D1I7GGLL_en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1]Google”>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/d/633-3/caesars_lobby.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/photos/lasvegas/lasvegas2005/caesars_lobby.jpg.html&usg=__h4SMN0bSew7CJblaMBnpWxGoPSc=&h=900&w=656&sz=194&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=JLVoMiI5Etl9ZM:&tbnh=146&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcaesars%2Bpalace%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26rlz%3D1I7GGLL_en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1)</a></p>

<p>Maybe it’s not “old” but it looks pretty classy to me.</p>