5*8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



State of New York, came from Eng- 

 land to preside and to deliver one of 

 the addresses. 



The University of the State of New 

 York was created to supervise colleges 

 and academies by the legislature in 

 17S4, at its first session after the 

 peace, and the Department of Educa- 

 tion was created in 1812 to supervise 

 the state system of common schools. 

 In both respects New York led the 

 other states and it may be all coun- 

 tries. The two departments were 

 united by law in 1904, and they now 

 have an impressive building to repre- 

 sent their work. The need of such a 

 building was urged by the commis- 

 sioner of education in 1905 and recom- 

 mended by the regents, and in 1906 

 the legislature appropriated some four 

 million dollars for the building and its 

 site. As a result of an elaborate archi- 

 tectural competition, in which sixty- 

 three designs were submitted, the plans 

 of Messrs. Palmer and Hornbostel 

 were accepted, and the building shown 

 in the accompanying illustrations has 

 now been erected. 



The facade consists of a great colon- 

 nade of many Corinthian columns, be- 

 hind which is a series of semi-circular 

 openings allowing a large window area. 

 The end facades are modifications of 

 the front, the columnar treatment be- 

 ing carried across the ends. The front 

 and end facades of the building are of 

 white marble and terra cotta on a dark 

 granite base. The basement contains 

 rooms for service of all kinds, the 

 lower part of the auditorium and the 

 lower floors of the great book stack of 

 the library. The first floor contains 

 rooms for the regents and the commis- 

 sioner of education with other offices, 

 including those for the library division 

 and state examination board. The sec- 

 ond floor contains reading rooms open- 

 ing on the stack room, with a capacity 

 of two million volumes. The third 

 floor contains offices and work rooms 

 for the examination division and ex- 

 tension division and the library school, 

 and the upper part of the library. 

 The fourth floor is devoted entirely to 

 the state museum and contains its col- 

 lections in geology, mineralogy, paleon- 



DOME OF THE FOYEB, LOOKING INTO THE HALL OF ZOOLOGY. 



