描述
**Cathedral of Learning**
**Art by:** Chris Hytha
**Story by:** Mark Houser
When John Bowman became chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh in 1921, he proposed a bold plan for his growing institution: a college skyscraper. Philadelphia architect Charles Klauder, renowned for his campus buildings at Princeton and Cornell, designed the tower as a blend of Art Deco and his signature Collegiate Gothic style.
Ground was broken in 1926, and the first classes were held in the building in 1931, though the Great Depression delayed completion of the dramatic four-story Commons Room for six more years.
The 40-story limestone highrise was the tallest educational building in the world until Moscow State University surpassed it in 1953. The university subsequently boasted having the tallest such building "in the free world," until the Cathedral of Learning was supplanted by school skyscrapers in Japan and Spain.
At the time of construction, surveys showed that one of every three Pitt students was the child of an immigrant. To honor that heritage, the university invited Pittsburgh’s various ethnic organizations to design and fund 18 Nationality Rooms representing the mother countries. Students taking classes in the rooms, which now number 31, quickly learn to expect occasional interruptions by curious visitors peeking in the doorways.
