Dreaming Spires at the Yale Club

By Matthew Longcore

Last night I had the great honor and privilege of speaking at the Yale Club of New York City. My presentation topic was my doctoral dissertation titled “Dreaming Spires: Collegiate Gothic Architecture on American Campuses.” Many thanks to the Yale Club of New York City and all those who attended. It was an unforgettable evening.

Here is the presentation.

Dreaming Spires: Collegiate Gothic Architecture on American Campuses

In the century between the 1830s and the 1930s, campuses of educational institutions in the northeastern United States favored by members of the American upper class were transformed by Collegiate Gothic architecture following models from medieval Great Britain. Like Oxford in England – “that sweet city with her dreaming spires” – these campuses would become known for their stunning architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This study examines the area of overlap in the Venn diagram of architectural and social history, the relationship between Collegiate Gothic architecture on American campuses and the rise of the Episcopalianism among members of the upper class in the United States. Sociologist E. Digby Baltzell described this as “the Episcopalianization of the American business aristocracy.” Anglophilia among members of the American upper class led to cultural diffusion across the Atlantic and to the appropriation of Collegiate Gothic architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The campuses featured in this presentation include Yale University , Princeton University, Trinity College, St. Paul’s School, Groton School, and St. George’s School. The work of James Gamble Rogers, Yale class of 1889 – the architect who designed the Yale Club of New York City, Harkness Memorial Quadrangle, and Sterling Memorial Library – will be discussed, along with the work of Henry Vaughan at St. Paul’s and Groton, as well as the work of Ralph Adams Cram at Princeton and St. George’s.

Matthew Longcore, Yale M.A. ’18

Matthew is a graduate of Trinity College and holds master’s degrees from Fairfield University, Harvard University, and Yale University. As an undergraduate, he majored in American Studies and studied abroad at Oxford University. Currently, he is a candidate for a Ph.D. in humanities at Salve Regina University. His doctoral dissertation is titled “Dreaming Spires: Collegiate Gothic Architecture on American Campuses.”

Matthew works as the Director of Membership and Outreach for the Human Relations Area Files, an anthropological research organization based at Yale University. He also teaches anthropology at the University of Connecticut. He is the editor and publisher of Ivy Style, the leading authority on the Ivy League look. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Yale Daily News, and The J. Press Icons Campaign.