A home for artists
The challenge before Leon Bakst was to design a private theater for one of his most loyal patrons. The problem was where to begin.
   Bakst, the set and costumer designer for the Ballets Russes in Paris, was in 1922 a guest at Evergreen House, the home of Alice Warder Garrett and John Work Garrett. Alice had invited Bakst to come live at the North Charles Street estate and design a theater for her. She encouraged him to use the home's bounteous art and book collections as a source of inspiration.
   Peasant Art in Russia, a book Bakst found in the Garrett Library, provided folk images that he stenciled and used as the theme for the whimsical theater that can be seen today. Full story...

The best of Friends for 70 years
On March 16, 1931, a small group of men and women gathered in Gilman Hall on the university's Homewood campus. A regular Who's Who of Johns Hopkins and Baltimore, the evening's roll call included such familiar names as Baetjer, Goodnow, Hutzler, Passano and Welch.
   The meeting had been convened not to discuss business or politics, medicine or education, but rather a shared passion, books. The occasion was the first general meeting of the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries, an organization formed just 11 days prior to stimulate interest and financial support for the university's library system. With the nation still in the throes of the Great Depression, there was concern at the time that the university would not be able to properly fund the libraries. The fledgling group felt that through a membership drive additional funds could be sought to preserve the integrity of the library and foster its improvement. Full story...

The Gazette The Johns Hopkins University
Suite 100 3003 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21218
410-516-8514 gazette@jhu.edu.