Know-It-All: The Cathedral of Learning
A century ago, groundbreaking began on the iconic building.
PHOTO BY HUCK BEARD
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of construction on the Cathedral of Learning, the 42-story Gothic tower that has anchored Pitt’s campus — and Oakland’s skyline — since ground broke in 1926.
Chancellor John Bowman envisioned a “tall building” that would double as a civic symbol; thousands of local schoolchildren helped fund it, mailing in dimes through the “Buy a Brick for Pitt” campaign.
Architect Charles Klauder spent two years on the design, working to blend the ambition of a modern skyscraper with a centuries-old architectural style. The plan met real pushback; some neighbors and university officials thought a tower that tall simply didn’t belong on campus.
The Commons Room, a soaring half-acre hall four stories tall, was a gift from Andrew Mellon — true Gothic construction, built with real stone arches rather than steel supports. Bowman insisted on acoustical tiles between the vaulting’s ribs, a costly choice the architect resisted, so that even at its busiest, the room stays hushed.
Then there are the 31 Nationality Rooms, first proposed in 1926, each designed and funded by one of Pittsburgh’s ethnic communities to reflect their heritage. A century later, scholars study under the Commons Room’s vaulted ceiling, and classes are held inside spaces modeled on Swedish cottages and Chinese temples.
