62 M\ 100 YEARS EXPLORING LIFE, 1888-1988 



Crane and Lillie then accumulated further funds to add on another 

 wing, creating an impressive L-shaped brick edifice. The new wing was 

 called the Brick Laboratory for a while and only much later the Lillie 

 Building. The Crane and Lillie complex, now often mistakenly simply called 

 Lillie, was a fairly straightforward brick building: upright, solid, sturdy, 

 reliable, with all the necessary conveniences. When they added a section to 

 the library just before 1940, they had to scrounge around all over New 

 England to get the required materials as the impending war had made 

 things tight. They managed to complete the project just before World War 

 II began. The Lillie and Crane buildings are more functional and restrained 

 than fashionable or ostentatious. They are solid and have served their 

 purposes well and promise to continue doing so, which is what really 

 matters. 



Like Lillie himself, the Lillie Building now serves as the rather austere 

 and quiet control center for the MBL. The mail room is located in the 

 basement, as are the chemical supply room, the equipment room, and 

 other, unheralded functional rooms and their staffs that make the MBL run. 

 Laboratory equipment arrives at the receiving room and thus begins its 

 MBL life in Lillie. The administrative offices used to reside in Lillie until 1981, 

 down the hall amid the clutter of laboratories and other offices. Recent 

 remodeling of the Candle House has provided a more appropriate, fancier, 

 and more modern setting for the administration, now removed from the 

 bustle of everyday science. 



Lillie also houses the large auditorium, where the MBL community 

 congregates for the famous Friday evening lectures. In the early days, when 

 Whitman was impressing his vision of the MBL on the place, the evening 

 lectures served a somewhat different purpose than they do now. Then they 

 were directed at problems. Rather than reporting research results, they 

 were designed to discuss ideas of research approaches more generally. 

 Because a high percentage of the community shared overlapping research 

 interests, the lectures could appeal to nearly the entire audience. The 

 modern listener shares the silent presence of many of the MBL greats, 

 whose names are inscribed on the refurbished mahogany chairs in the 

 auditorium. One can gaze at Crane's portrait on the wall, marveling tliat he 

 really does not look like such an imposing person, even though he did 

 silently and single-handedly save the MBL during its worst economic years. 



Outside the Lillie Auditorium, around the corner, sits a bronze statue 

 of Confucius. Mr. Crane had served as minister to China in 1920 and 

 brought back Confucius for the MBL. Originally placed in the Crane wing of 

 Lillie, Confucius has wandered, at times to the MBL beach and even to 

 Nobska. For a while he sat watch near the watchman's desk, and now he 

 has retvirned to his original location. Tradition holds that a researcher who 

 places a penny in Confucius's hands will have rewai^ding research results. 



