Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/349

 THE SECOND ERA OF BUILDING 307 the present one. In addition to Anatomy, Physiology, Zoology, and Botany, the Departments of Pathology and Bacteriology found their homes in the Hull Laboratories, and the work of the medical students was here conducted. It was particularly gratifying to the authorities that these laboratories were built for the sum appro- priated three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The impressive gateway was the gift of the architect Henry Ives Cobb. A week after the University opened its doors to students on October i, 1892, the secretary made the following statement: The first week has been signalized by a new benefaction, so splendid that it will be forever memorable in the annals of the University. Charles T. Yerkes has arranged to build one of the completest astronomical observatories in the world. When the Old University secured its telescope with an objective eighteen and one-half inches in diameter, it possessed the largest instrument then in existence. Since that time telescopes have been made having objectives of twenty, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, thirty, and thirty-six inches. There seeming, just at this time, to be an opportunity to secure a telescope having an objective of forty inches, President Harper laid the matter before Mr. Yerkes. With that quick and generous liberality which has distinguished the patrons of the University, Mr. Yerkes at once took steps to enable the University to secure this great prize. It was expected, at the time, that the Observatory would be built as soon as the architect, Mr. Cobb, could prepare the plans. It soon developed, however, that the work could not be hastened. At the outset it was supposed the Observatory would be located in Chicago. But it soon appeared that there were insuperable objections to a city location, the chief one being the smoke of Chicago which so often obscures the sky. Inquiries were therefore begun as to the best location outside the city. An astonishing interest was immediately manifested in many communities to secure the location of the Observatory in their neighborhood. Many offers of land and money were made to obtain the prize. The question of the location having been referred to Mr. Ryerson and President Harper, they carefully considered the proffers made and the advantages and disadvantages of the various locations sug- gested. In their final report, submitted March 28, 1893, in making