Library, James D. Hoskins—East Wing Gothic Decorative Elements

Although much of the ceiling decoration has been covered by false ceilings associated with air conditioning the facility, the original Gothic characteristics lie underneath. The ceiling of the main entry on the first floor is intricately painted with vines and oak leaves. The stair and the hall leading to the former card catalog area have an elaborate ceiling formed of five intersecting pointed arches, which are bright blue aqua and sprinkled with gold and silver fleur-de-lis. An ornamental plaque on each section of the arches bears the name of an individual famous in an academic discipline. Above the first landing is a group representing philosophical studies: Moses, Aristotle, Plato, and Archimedes symbolize the beginning of religion, philosophy, law and government, and mathematics. The second group includes Herodotus, the father of history; Marco Polo, the explorer; Gutenberg, the inventor of moveable type; and Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist. The practical sciences are illustrated in the third group by Adam Smith, economist; Pestalozzi, educator; Baron von Liebig, founder of agricultural chemistry; and Louis Pasteur, chemist and bacteriologist. The fine arts make up the fourth group and include Beethoven; Raphael; Sir Christopher Wren; and Phidias, the Greek sculptor. The fifth group represents literature and includes Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, and Goethe. The ceiling beams also borrow from the Gothic period and are painted with decorative motifs using scrolling, foliation, and heraldic devices. The theme of the inscriptions on the beams is books and their influence. The quotations are “In books lies the soul of the whole past time” (Thomas Carlyle); “Wisdom adorns riches and shadows poverty” (Socrates); “Books are for company, the best friends and counselors” (unknown sixteenth-century writer); “The learned man hath always riches in himself” (Phaedrus); and “Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom” (a verse from Proverbs).