THE DISCIPLES DIVINITY HOUSE

This institution is organically connected with the Divinity School of the University, its purpose being the promotion and organization of graduate divinity studies for members of the Disciples communion. It was organized in 1894 and was the first of the denominational Houses allied with the University. It has not been the purpose of the Disciples Divinity House to provide a theological curriculum. It seeks rather to supply courses in the history, literature, polity, and ideals of the Disciples to members of that body and others engaged in graduate work in the Divinity School. In the course of its history more than three hundred Disciples have been registered in the Divinity School, a considerable proportion of whom have taken one or more of the courses in the Disciples Divinity House.

The work of the House is conducted under the direction of a Board of Trustees who administer its funds, own its property, and select its instructional force. Up to the present time the classes of the Divinity House have been held in the classrooms of the Divinity School, and the members have occupied rooms in the Divinity Halls or elsewhere as opportunity offered. It has been the consistent purpose, however, of the trustees to provide a physical equipment for the institution as soon as sufficient funds can be secured. That plan is soon to be put into operation.

The Divinity House has a property one hundred and seventy-five feet on the north side of Fifty-seventh Street and University Avenue, extending one hundred and fifty feet north on the latter street. The buildings will be located on this site. The temporary structure of the Hyde Park Church of the Disciples will be removed and its permanent building erected there. On the east side of the site the main building of the Divinity House will be placed. This will include quarters for classrooms, offices, library, and other space.

Along the northern side of the property and in a measure connecting the other two buildings will extend the dormitory. This will be a valuable contribution to the housing facilities of the Divinity School for single men, as it will be available for any members of the Divinity School after the needs of the Disciples have been met. It is not certain that this building will be erected as soon as the other two, for which the need is more imperative. When these structures are completed in harmony with the general requirements of the University environment they should be an attractive and valuable addition to the complex of buildings constituting the University and its immediate surroundings.

THE CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

The group of buildings designed for the use of Chicago Theological Seminary in its new location near the University of Chicago is to be placed on the north side of Fifty-eighth Street between University and Woodlawn avenues. The two lots are separated by an alley, across which the plans show a bridge, which, while desirable, is not essential. The frontage on University Avenue is 100 feet, on Woodlawn Avenue, 50 feet. The total frontage on Fifty-eighth Street is 268 feet.

The buildings have been designed in colonial style. The material to be used is red brick with stone trimmings. It is fortunate that the house which the Seminary now occupies and which was built by Professor William Gardner Hale is in the finest colonial style. This is appropriate to the history and purpose of a Congregational seminary, and the new designs have been keyed to this dignified and useful building.

The plan of the entire group naturally divides itself into three portions: the western, devoted to the purposes of residence and administration; the central, containing the library and assembly hall; the eastern, which is the house for the President. It is not the intention to imply the immediate construction of the whole group, but rather to indicate a comprehensive plan suitable to the ultimate needs of the Seminary.

Both dwellings are now in use. The new buildings will be erected at the earliest moment when funds shall have been secured. Besides the offices for administration and a social center, the residential section will furnish rooms for about seventy students. In the new buildings only single rooms will be constructed; in the house now occupied the larger rooms will continue to be assigned to more than one occupant. A kitchen will be provided merely to furnish facilities for the serving of refreshments on social occasions.

The central unit of the group, across the alley from the dormitories, comprises the library and assembly hall and will be called Graham Taylor Hall. The collections of Hammond Library are to be devoted to the sources of the religious history of the Middle West and especially to the development of the Congregational churches in this territory. A house library of reference books and current volumes in theology will

also be kept here. The assembly hall will be used for gatherings under the auspices of the Seminary and will seat about one hundred and twentyfive people. It probably will be in the simple style of the colonial meeting-house.

The eastern unit is the President's residence. It is designed to harmonize with the rest of the group and to give satisfactory accommodation to a family of average size. It meets the building line on both streets and is separated from the library by a garden which gives all the privacy possible to a city dwelling.