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Main Quad for Arch
This sketch depicting the West Campus quad was created by the Horace Trumbauer firm during campus construction in the 1920s. Trumbauer’s firm included Julian Abele, a Black architect credited with designing many of the buildings that we now recognize as Duke University. Duke’s construction grew under the leadership of William Preston Few, who was President of Trinity College (1910-1924) and the newly named Duke University (1924-1940). Along with English professor and first University Comptroller Frank C. Brown, Few was instrumental in the Georgian architecture on East Campus and the Neo-Gothic architecture on West Campus. -
Chapel Architectural Drawings
The Duke Chapel was designed by Black architect Julian Abele, who worked at the firm of Horace Trumbauer. The cornerstone of the Chapel was placed in 1930, and the Chapel first opened for the 1932 commencement. Reflecting Duke’s origins as a Methodist university, the Chapel serves as a symbol of Duke’s early emphasis on religion. For example, a student’s religious affiliation was often noted in their student record, and attending Chapel was a required part of student life. Today the Chapel is an interfaith institution supporting the religious and spiritual life of the Duke community. -
Board of Trustees Pens
On December 29, 1924, the Trinity College Board of Trustees used these pens to change the name from Trinity College to Duke University. The trustees changed the name to Duke after tobacco and energy industrialist James Buchanan (J. B.) Duke established the Duke Endowment with a gift of $40 million to provide ongoing support for four Southern universities (Duke, Furman, Johnson C. Smith, and Davidson), non-profit hospitals in the Carolinas, child well-being, and rural United Methodist churches. Funds from the Endowment enabled the construction of Duke University, named after Duke’s father, Washington Duke. After J. B. Duke’s death in 1925, he left the Endowment an additional $67 million. -
Trowels
These trowels belonged to stonemason Pete Ferettini and were used for the construction of West Campus in the late 1920s. At that time, all stone was delivered to campus by train from a quarry in Hillsborough and cut by hand. Chisel marks can still be seen on some buildings. James B. Duke's death in October 1925 meant that he never saw the “new” campus realized. His only daughter, Doris Duke, symbolically laid the cornerstone on June 5, 1928, on the family’s behalf. Descendants of the Duke family have remained engaged and generous supporters of the university, and have served as trustees for Duke University and the Duke Endowment. -
East and West Campus Sketches
The Horace Trumbauer architectural firm sketched many iterations before settling on the architecture we see today. West Campus and East Campus were both designed to have water features and monuments that were never realized due to financial constraints. Today Duke stretches far beyond the original blueprint, with varying architectural styles, from the concrete Edens Quad to the brick Biological Sciences building. -
Printing plate of Duke Alma Mater
Originally titled “Hymn to Trinity” by Trinity College graduate student Robert H. James (T’24), this devotional was later adapted as “Dear Old Duke,” the alma mater of Duke University. Because this is a printing plate, the sheet music and lyrics are depicted backwards. Lyrics: Dear old Duke thy name we’ll sing. To thee our voices raise (we’ll raise),/To thee our anthems ring,/in everlasting praise. And though on life’s broad‒sea,/Our fates may far us bear./We’ll ever turn to thee,/Our Alma Mater dear. -
Duke Stone
The Collegiate Gothic style of Abele Quad is carved out of “Duke Stone,” a special stone from a quarry in nearby Hillsborough. The proximity of the quarry and versatility of the rock has made this an essential and valued building material for Duke. Duke’s “stone era” was first interrupted by the construction of the College of Engineering—now Hudson Hall—and the Physics Building following World War II; each was built of less expensive red brick in a Georgian style. Duke returned to stone with the completion of the Classroom and Administration Building—now the Allen Building—in 1954. Since then, buildings at Duke have varied in style and primary building materials, but have retained accents of the characteristic stone. -
JB Duke's pocket watch
James Buchanan (J. B.) Duke (1856-1925), a Durham native and son of Trinity College benefactor Washington Duke, is perhaps best known for his establishment of the Duke Endowment and the subsequent creation of Duke University. He made his fortune through the American Tobacco Company and later through harnessing hydroelectric power, creating Duke Power—now Duke Energy. After years of conversations with President William Preston Few and Benjamin Duke, J. B. Duke signed the Indenture and Deed of Trust, establishing the Duke Endowment on December 11, 1924. This pocket watch is engraved with J. B.’s initials on the front and would have been attached to a long chain. -
The Trinity Archive, Volume 37, Issue 3
Founded in 1887, the Trinity Archive is Duke’s oldest student publication and one of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States. In his editorial “A New Ideal,” student editor-in-chief James Joseph Farriss (T’25) embraced the renaming of Trinity College to Duke University and recognized both the buildings and also the momentum and ongoing support the endowment brought. He called on students to be worthy of this investment and noted that only the students can create the “greater culture and ideals” that must accompany the buildings. The Trinity Archive was renamed the Archive in the fall of 1925.
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