URGES MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM

Of the suggestions made for a memorial for the Harvard men who have lost their lives in the war, that of a building containing a large auditorium seems to me, from all points of view, the best. It is hardly necessary to dwell on the need of such a building. The auditorium could be used for all the larger University gatherings, for Class Day and Commencement exercises, for symphony and other large concepts, and for larger theatrical performances.

At the same time, a smaller theatre could with a little ingenuity on the part of the architects, be provided below the large auditorium for the Dramatic Club, and other smaller performances which include the regular plays of the 47 Workshop.

The stages of both auditoriums should be equipped with modern lighting and other theatrical devices to provide proper facilities for experiments in the visual side of the stage. It would be exceedingly interesting if experiments in scenic effects could be carried out in the various club theatricals as well as in the 47 Workshop.

The entrance part of such a building would be a thoroughly appropriate place for memorial tablets, possibly also for a collection of war relics. The whole building designed for the more dignified occasions of University gathering would surely be a much more suitable memorial than a gymnasium, which would always carry with it the suggestion of daily rub and shower and might easily become a worn out and obsolete, if not offensive building in a few years.

An auditorium, on the other hand, could be made a permanent monument. It could be constructed in brick, and designed, like the Freshman dormitories, to harmonize with the traditional Harvard buildings. I believe there would be little danger, at the present day, of creating an architectural monstrosity like Memorial Hall and Sanders Theatre and a very good chance of obtaining something of the simple dignity and delightfulness of detail of the Freshman buildings