For parents who were once students themselves at Lab, Blaine Hall, which turns 100 years old this year, is a place of special memories.
Paul Marks, '84, who attended Lab from Kindergarten through graduation, recalled, "When I returned to Blaine with my son, Charles, for our nursery school play group/interview, I definitely felt a sense of déjà vu. In fact our playgroup room was the same room where I attended Kindergarten.
"I was carefully observing the room to see if I could remember where things were located, such as the coat hooks, the piano (Mrs. Johnson, my kindergarten teacher, was a wonderful piano player), and the fish tank."
Like other parents, Marks noticed that the space now seemed much smaller than he had once remembered it. "Through the eyes of a child, the ceilings were tall, the hallways were long, the stairs were big, and the classrooms were large. Blaine now seemed more concise, orderly, and historic."
The building also evokes memories of experiences with classmates. Nikki Zollar, '73, said, "When I think of growing up at the Lab Schools, I think of the wonderful and lasting friendships I made. I think of a creative side that was nurtured by my teachers and school administrators. I wish for my daughter, Branden, the same good times for learning, growing, and stretching. I wish for her lifelong friendships born on the Midway. And I hope that she will see her children grow up at the Lab Schools!"
Blaine Hall still looks much the same as it did the day it opened. It was a monument to what were considered the most modern building techniques of the day, but it preserved the Gothic heritage of the University's architectural vision to secure its place as an important feature of the emerging campus.
"I think all of us who have taught or gone to school in Blaine recognize it as a wonderful space," said Beverly Biggs, Interim Director of the Laboratory Schools. "The building is solid and secure, but also filled with light.
"It's an amazing tribute to the people who planned and built Blaine that it has endured so long without needing too much serious renovation," she said. To mark the centennial, the Schools are developing a curriculum package for students to use in the coming school year--the hundredth academic year that Blaine has been in use.
A description left by Blaine's architect, James Gamble Rogers, explains why it is such a remarkable building. Designed to serve both the University's newly opened School of Education as well as Laboratory Schools students, it was, like many ventures at the fledgling University, intended to establish a new standard of excellence for the nation.
University leaders required that the new building "be absolutely fireproof, that the roof be of red tile, that the exterior be of Bedford (lime) stone, and that the style of architecture harmonize with that of the other buildings on the University campus," Rogers wrote in the November 1903 issue of the University Record.
Some of the unnoticed features in Blaine reflect the insistence that the building be fireproof. Windows were built to include as little wood as possible; hallways were built with floors of concrete and windowsills of stone. The building also features wide, well placed iron and slate stairways to provide a quick exit. The hallways were to be wide in order to facilitate easy movement between classes.
Another consideration for the planners was providing a healthy environment for children. A then state-of-the-art ventilation system was installed to prevent stale air from accumulating in the rooms.
Health considerations were also a reason why the building has so many windows. Previous builders had often made windows small, because, in the case of commercial buildings, they were a source of increased taxation. Blaine was built at a time when fewer people were readers in society at large and therefore did not need large windows for reading light, Rogers pointed out.
But Rogers ensured that not just classrooms, but also Blaine’s hallways, be well lit, giving the school something Rogers said was not available at any other school in the world at that time, "sunlight in every classroom at some time of the day." In addition to accommodating learning, the windows also gave the school a cheerful atmosphere, which Rogers felt was absolutely essential.
Blaine Hall was erected with great fanfare and its early students found it to be an exciting place. President William Rainey Harper led a delegation that included the French ambassador to the United States and other dignitaries for a groundbreaking ceremony attended by 800 people.
Professor Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University delivered the main address, in which he praised the University for joining Columbia in establishing a School of Education, which would provide a place to study the subject scientifically. The move was considered an improvement on the work done at normal schools of the time, which trained teachers but produced little original research on education.
Mrs. Emmons Blaine, whose gift of $1 million made the establishment of the School of Education possible, later said, "The first aim of this school, as I have seen it, was to improve the conditions of school life for all children in the world."
Mrs. Blaine, whose personal fortune came from the McCormick farm implement business, was a firm supporter of Francis Parker, who had a central role in the groundbreaking. Like Dewey, Parker believed that children learn best when they are given freedom to discover the world around them. Both Parker and Dewey took a firm stand against teaching by having students memorize and repeat their lessons. Teachers were encouraged to experiment and visitors came from all over the country to see what was happening at the Laboratory Schools.
The two men most responsible for the experimentation were not destined to serve long at the helm of the Schools. Parker died before Blaine was opened and Dewey left in 1904 to take a position at Columbia. The school flourished, nonetheless, through the hard work of the teachers who had joined in the experiment.
Over the years, the uses of the building have changed a number of times, but the basic physical structure of Blaine Hall has changed very little. The theater on the second floor has remained in place for 100 years and now houses the Middle School drama program. The little gymnasium on the second floor at the east side of the building is now room 284, a kindergarten classroom
During its early years, the School of Education shared the building. For a while, the Schools used as a high school library and study hall a paneled room on the left as one leaves Blaine to enter Judd Hall.
The Schools later established a library on the second floor and for many years operated a cafeteria on the fourth floor. A large classroom midway along the fourth-floor corridor was often used for experiments in education and was at one time equipped with cameras to record student’s work. It still has a window in a room overlooking it from where observers can watch classroom activities.
Teachers continue to keep alive the spirit of innovation and creativity as they inspire students, who recall the people who founded the Schools when they see the bust of Francis Parker on the fireplace in the lobby. It reminds visitors, students, and teachers of the heritage of the Schools in this hundredth year of its most memorable building.