Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/345

 THE SECOND ERA OF BUILDING 303 available, and a special building committee was appointed to pre- pare plans for "a biological laboratory and lay them before the Board." A very little consideration of the problem before this committee made it plain that something more was needed than "a biological laboratory," and the committee worked out the plan of four laboratories, and on December 27, 1895, submitted a report recommending that there be a building for Zoology and Paleon- tology, one for Anatomy, Neurology, and Physiological Psychology, one for Botany, and one for Physiology and Physiological Chem- istry, provided they could be erected for the sum of three hundred thousand dollars. The property deeded to the University by Miss Culver consisted of a large number of pieces of real estate, some of it vacant, but most of it improved with dwellings, and the remainder with buildings used for business purposes. It being found that the laboratories needed could not be built for the three hundred thousand dollars which had been named by the donor and by the committee, Miss Culver, in June, 1896, made an additional cash contribution of twenty-five thousand dollars and the contracts for the building of the laboratories were let. The properties did not, as they were sold, realize the prices anticipated, and from time to time the generous donor added very considerable sums to her original donation. The new buildings were called the Hull Biological Laboratories in honor of Charles J. Hull, a relative of Miss Culver, with whom she had been associated in business, and of whose wealth she became the principal beneficiary. Miss Culver had already given the Hull homestead to the Social Settle- ment which became famous as Hull House. Mr. Hull had been a Trustee of the Old University and so much interested in its welfare that he had arranged for a considerable bequest to it, and it was not until the educational work of that institution had finally ceased in 1886 that these benevolent provisions were changed. Mr. Hull was for one year vice-president of its Board. It seemed most fitting that the benevolent intentions of Mr. Hull toward the Old University should be carried out on so magnificent a scale by Miss Culver in favor of the institution which took its place. This great donation seemed like a contribution from the Old University itself.