Is it true that Daniel Coit Gilmans will required that no building should rise higher than the Gilman Hall clock tower, or that the clock tower should not be blocked from view of Charles Street?
There is no truth to either statement. Gilman retired from Hopkins in 1901 and died in 1908. He left no money to the University, nor did he leave any stipulations as to future construction on the campus. Gilman Hall, constructed between 1913 and 1915, was named for him to recognize his 25 years service as Hopkins’ founding president. The reason the MSE Library was constructed primarily underground is that a building of such size, built above ground, would have dwarfed Homewood House and neighboring classroom buildings. Homewood House, with its Federal style of architecture, served as the model for subsequent campus buildings.
