Alma Mater

The Commencement Ceremony & Washington University

Washington University in St. Louis

Founded in 1853, the University was located in downtown St. Louis for its first 50 years. Ground for a new site on the edge of the city was purchased in 1894. The site plan was developed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1895 and the architecture firm of Cope and Stewardson, winner of the national competition, was selected in 1899. In 1900 construction was begun on the first five buildings of a plan based upon the medieval courtyards of Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.

These first Gothic buildings with their red granite walls, arches and gargoyles formed the quadrangle. Upon completion, these original buildings were leased to the 1904 World's Fair. The lease money made it possible to begin construction of additional buildings and all were used for the Fair before the University moved in. The athletic stadium, Francis Field, was built to accommodate the 1904 Olympic games, the first held in the Western hemisphere, and presented in conjunction with the Fair.