Johns Hopkins Magazine -- February 2000
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FEBRUARY 2000
CONTENTS

RETURN TO A NEW "PLAN FOR THE CENTURY"

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
FOR HOMEWOOD

THE CONCEPT PLAN
AT A GLANCE

AUTHOR'S NOTEBOOK

RELATED SITES

O N    C A M P U S E S

A New "Plan for the Century"
Laying the Groundwork for Homewood

At its founding in 1876, Johns Hopkins consisted of just two buildings in downtown Baltimore. Around the turn of the century, when administrators decided to move the campus to Homewood, they hired the firm of Parker, Thomas, and Rice to develop the first Homewood campus master plan. It called for a circular drive running between 33rd and 34th streets, leading up to a quadrangle. The main academic building (what would become Gilman Hall) was to be on the north side of the quad, facing southward toward a second quadrangle (now the Lower Quad). The plan also called for the main axis of campus to run approximately 30 degrees east of north.


The botanical lab, ca. 1910
The university did not have enough money at that point to move all its operations to Homewood, but construction did begin on Homewood Field for athletics and the greenhouse for botanical laboratories (left). Built between 1907 and 1912, the greenhouse and Homewood Field are the only two structures at a 30-degree angle with the rest of campus. In 1910, the university began a massive fund-raising campaign, and by 1912 had raised just over $1.2 million. At about the same time, the state of Maryland agreed to pay for the construction of two engineering buildings. With these new funds, the university prepared to move the entire university to Homewood.

During this time the Parker, Thomas, and Rice plan was revised, with some notable changes: the axis of campus was shifted to run parallel to North Charles Street, probably in response to the thoroughfare's increasing prominence. And the site for the main academic building was moved from the north to the west side of the northern quad. Construction began on Maryland and Gilman halls in 1913. The School of Engineering moved to Homewood in the fall of 1914, and Arts and Sciences followed in the summer of 1916. --BJK

Read more about the Homewood campus master plan...

A New "Plan for the Century"
The Concept Plan at a Glance

 


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