The Robert E. Lee that peers down at you from atop a perch in the Chapel sports a historically embarrassing snafu.
Look closely and you will see the letters "U.S." engraved in his belt buckle. The former leader of the Confederacy probably would resent the engraver's unintentional insult. Rumor has it, therefore, that students are supposed to rub the belt buckle smooth. When the letters are no longer legible, something ignominious is supposed to occur, explains Thomas Harkins, associate University archivist, smiling wryly.
This myth is but one of many that has grown to outlandish proportions during the decades. Another fallacy contends that ancient University professors posed for the innumerable less-striking grotesques that can be spotted in virtually every nook and cranny of West Campus.
Despite its romantic appeal, Harkins denies the validity of this story, saying that Irish nationals used standard figures for their engravings, not real-life models, to create the University's "collegiate Gothic" look.
Indeed, although the University's architecture emulates British institutions such as Cambridge and Oxford Universities, it simply has not been around long enough to acquire the authentic, weather-beaten look inherent to traditional Gothic structures. Its spires and crenelations, although less worn, are a convincing replica to the untrained eye.
Other celebrated pieces of Gothicism peppered throughout the University include dozens of witty caricatures that most people do not notice on a daily basis. One of the more recognizable images, located in Craven Quadrangle, depicts a quartet of youths who are thinking, hearing, seeing and speaking no evil. Nearby, one can find emblems of scholarship, such as the lamp of learning, a candle and a book and an owl with a helmet, a symbol of lofty thoughts.
The protruding gargoyles around the large clock tower in Crowell Quad represent yet another notable Gothic feature. They are, in actuality, rain gutters, although they have not been functional for a number of years.
The tower itself was inspired by the parish church in St. Buryan, Cornwall, and features a variety of seals around its entrance. These are examples of grotesques, which are fanciful sculptures that represent human or animal forms peering out of unexpected places.
Grotesques of dragons also are abundant and can be found at eye-level; other symbols of evil, such as the apple and the serpent, can be found near to Craven Quad's muted quartet. More human grotesques include a skeptic peering at the world through a telescope, twentieth century varsity athletes and an alchemist hovering above the entrance to the Old Chemistry Building.
Among Kilgo Quad's numerous figures rests Archimedes, discoverer of the principle of the lever and specific gravity, and a playboy who sits atop a dormitory blowing a saxophone.
As the center of the University, it is appropriate that the Chapel is the most ornate structure. Finished in 1932, it was the last West Campus Building to be constructed; it is adorned with idealized countenances of young men who look like scholars and potential crusaders for the King.
The sculptors, of John Donnelly, Inc., in New York City, used Indiana limestone. According to an article in the Nov. 5, 1930, issue of The Chronicle: "This stone is of the class that hardens with time and offers more resistance to weather than does other classes of stone."
James B. Duke took particular interest in the construction of the University. He had loads of stone delivered from several quarries around the country and had sample walls erected to determine which he liked best. The stone he eventually selected was quarried by residents of nearby Hillsborough, and featured a variety of warmth and shade-17 distinct colors ranging from blue to orange.
Horace Trumbauer, the Philadelphia architect of Duke's residence, and Julian Abele, the chief designer of Trumbauer's firm, together planned all of the University's buildings until Abele's death in 1950.
Aldous Huxley, a distinguished English novelist and critic in the 1930s, described the University's campus as "the most successful essay in neo-Gothic that I know." Not all University buildings, however, are as awe-inspiring. One look at the mundane red-brick facilities on Science Drive will serve as an illustration.
In fact, it seems as though the University founders wanted the institution to be just a tad bigger than it eventually turned out to be. As Harkins notes, the rooms are just a little bit smaller, the halls a little bit narrower and the ceilings a little bit lower than they originally were supposed to be.
Unfortunately, the breath-taking West Campus structures drained University funds. As a result, the Science Drive facilities are markedly less detailed and less intricate. "Everybody kind-of looked at them and said: 'Ugh,'" Harkins says.
After the engineering buildings were constructed, the University's Board of Trustees passed a resolution mandating that future construction projects incorporate more elements of Gothic style. This spirit is rather evident when one looks at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, for instance.
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