The Great Flood
When I do homework that has something to do with the humanities, I generally prefer to not work in my room since there are far too many distractions. I never really achieve the same sort of meditative concentration that I do when I work on math or science. Today, I had some reading and a short paper to write on The Iliad, so I was working in one of the lounges. Throughout the evening, thunderstorms built up more and more until the dim room was illuminated with steady flashes of lightning. When I finished my reading, I felt like a change in scenery, so I packed up and moved across the Midway to the Harper library.
In terms of being a library, Harper is a very insignificant piece of the university's system. In terms of being a building, however, it is a spectacular monument that consists of a gigantic Gothic room with two enormous chadeliers, suspended from ceilings that must be 40-50 feet high, and little stone crests and gargoyles everywhere. As I marched across the Midway, the rain hadn't started yet, but the strong gusts of warm wind and chaotic thunder and lightning brooded around me.
When I arrived, I think I was one of three people in the entire library, not surprising for that hour I suppose. While I planned and started to write my paper, the lightning increased, and the spectacular claps of thunder echoed throughout the monolithic chamber. Then the rains came down furiously, seeping in through the little window panes and dribbling down the stone walls. Half of lights went out. It was a truly awesome sight to behold.
Eventually, that unpleasant procrastinating impulse consumed me, I put my computer and books in my bag, went downstairs and walked outside into somewhat of a total downpour. In the quads, trees had collapsed, and limbs and leaves were strewn about the ground. The Midway, whose central fields drop down and are set about 5 feet lower than the adjacent streets, was a series of expansive lakes. Nevertheless, after negotiating some impressive puddles in the courtyard, I escaped the rain and plopped cozily into my room to write a bit more.
You're bringing back so many memories.
The Harper Library was one of my favorite places to study. It always seemed so empty -- so that I felt like one of a few privliged souls to experience such a magnificent space.
At the time I don't think I really appreciated buildings as magnificent spaces -- well, at least not until after seeing the Taj Mahal, which I did see my second year at UC.
Eventually I learned to appreciate the architecture, patterned after Oxford: the quads, Ida Noyes, Hutchinson Hall (a duplicate of Oxford's Christ Church) and Rockefeller Chapel. To fully understand UC you must read a biograpy of John D.
In the end, probably my favoite space was the sun drenched tiny alcove in Regenstein. Maybe it was the one place to experience the sun in a otherwise dreary cold place. Maybe it was the modern architecture. Maybe it was the comfortable plush chair in the warm sun that I fell asleep in.
Also, don't forget to check out the Robie House.