USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume III > Part 15
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(April 10) articles of incorporation, a grant of land, and a building for the Natural History Society, the latter dating from 1831. This first building was completed in 1864. Professor Rogers, as president, organ- ized the institute the next year, the School of Arts being the first. The School of Industrial Science, first opened in 1865 at the Mercantile Library, then on Summer Street. The well-known Rogers Building was ready for occupancy in 1866. The institute is a monument to William Barton Rogers, its first president, and intimately connected with it until his death in June of 1882, just as he was about to deliver his annual address.
Although ready in 1862, the institute was not able to function until 1865 because of the Civil War. In 1868, it graduated its first class of a half dozen men; since then its growth has been phenomenal. It was early favored by liberal aid from individuals, one of the chief benefactors being Dr. William J. Walker of Newport, Rhode Island; the State also provided it with funds coming from the sale of public lands. The site on Boylston Street served for a half century, during which period the number of students increased from 15 to 1,900 ; its instructors from 10 to 300, its courses of study leading to the Bachelor of Science degree from 6 to 16. Today it gives instruction through 19 departments, the largest of which are in engineering, civil, mechanical and chemical. The strik- ing feature in recent years of its engineering work has been the widening service in the extension of engineering principles and the results of research to great industries; this service is also an important product of the department of chemistry, of mining and metallurgy and of physics. A recent registration gave well over 3,000 students, more than a third of whom were graduates and students from colleges representing 142 Amer- ican and 55 foreign colleges and universities. Some of the members of the staff of instruction at West Point Naval Academy are sent to the institute, while other corps of the military and naval service have officers enrolled for post graduate work. The publications of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are one of its greatest gifts to all the world. Upon the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, April, 1911, gifts from the alumni and others to the amount of $7,500,000 enabled Technology to start building that handsome quadrangle on the Cambridge Esplanade of the Charles which "looms so largely in the eye of the visitor as one of the architectural glories of the city." Extending along the Charles Basin for an eighth of a mile, the glistening white building now houses this unsurpassed school whose growth and greatness of service has seemingly but begun.
Northeastern University, established in 1896, under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association, itself one of the oldest of the institutions of Boston, has proven the need of such a school. Its pur-
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pose is to provide education for employed men and women who desire to increase their efficiency and enlarge their outlook on life. Starting as an evening class, it opened a day school in 1909 and was incorporated as a college in 1916. It had in 1924, in all, 4,735 students, day, evening and non-collegiate. This includes only the Boston work, there being divi- sions for extension work in Worcester, Springfield, Providence, New Haven and Bridgeport; and branches in Lynn, Malden and Newton. The day school gives courses in engineering, leading to a Bachelor of Science degree, and administration, carrying the degree of Bachelor of Commercial Science. There are evening schools of law, commerce and finance. Of the non-collegiate departments, there is a preparatory school, the Huntington Day School for Boys, and a vocational institute. The institution has also a resident extension course, a home study course and a division of university extension.
The Massachusetts Normal Art School, on Newbury and Exeter streets, was established by an act of the Legislature primarily as a train- ing school to qualify teachers to carry out the provisions of a law, passed three years previously, making the free instruction in drawing obligatory in the schools of the cities and towns in the State of 10,000 inhabitants or more. The school started in a small way on the upper floor of a dwelling house, but has three times outgrown its various quarters, the present building having been erected in 1887. It is still under the management of the State Department of Education, but its principal is chosen by the city. The usual number of students is 300, making it one of the largest schools of its kind. Instruction is given in the departments of design, drawing, painting, modeling, architectural and mechanical drawing, and in teacher training.
Radcliffe College, in Cambridge, has had, from its beginnings, an essential relation of structure and of spirit with Harvard. Begun in 1879 as the Collegiate Institution for Women-popularly known as the "Harvard Annex"-it was authorized in 1896 as Radcliffe College "to furnish instruction and the opportunities of college life to women and to promote their higher education"; and "to confer on women all the honors and degrees as fully as any university or college in this Common- wealth, is now so empowered respecting men or women-provided that, however, no degree shall be conferred by said Radcliffe College except by the approval of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, given on satisfactory evidence of such qualifications as is accepted for the same degree when conferred by Harvard University. Further, it may confer at any time upon the President and Fellows of Harvard College such powers of visitation and of direction and control over its management as said Radcliffe College may deem it wise to confer, and the said President and Fellows of Harvard College may consent to assume." The two
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colleges are even closer united than the provisions of the charter indi- cate. Supervision is constant by Harvard, and while the courses are taken separately by the students of each, the faculty of one is the board of instruction of the other. Radcliffe offers special opportunities to women for graduate work leading to the higher degrees in art and philosophy. The registration in the undergraduate department in 1924 was 563 women, in the graduate department, 190.
Simmons College is a vocation college for women founded in accord- ance with the instructions in the will of John Simmons, a Boston mer- chant who died in 1870, that instruction should be given in "art, science and industry best calculated to enable the scholars to acquire an inde- pendent livelihood." The money did not become available to the insti- tution until 1899, when the amount had reached $1,500,000 and more. The buildings for the college were erected on the Fenway close to the Mrs. "Jack" Gardner Palace, and were opened to students in 1902. Its policy has been to prepare its students for vocations suitable to educated women, requiring such training as may reasonably be given in college, and to avoid the duplication of work already done by neighboring insti- tutions. Hence the college is divided into such schools as Household Economics, Secretarial Studies, Library Science, General Science, Social Work, Education for Store Service, Public Health and Economic Re- search, eight in all with a total registration of 1,228 students.
Simmons College offers a four-year program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science, a course for college graduates leading to the same degree, and to that of Master of Science; a four-year program in secre- tarial subjects, and one and two years' courses in the same subjects for college graduates, and similar courses in library science, social work, and a pre-medical course for women aiming at degrees in medicine. Affiliated with the college on the Fenway, are the School for Social Work, on Somerset Avenue; the Prince School of Education for Store Service on Beacon Street; and the School of Public Health Nursing on Massachusetts Avenue.
Wellesley College is also claimed by Boston as one of its institutions for higher education. It was founded in 1870 when Vassar was the only other of the great women's colleges. Such colleges have multiplied amazingly in the last century, but Wellesley ranks third in the United States in point of size, and in quality of work, is not exceeded by any. The faculty, in 1924, numbered 181; its student body, 1,533. Forty-six states were represented in the student body, and eight foreign countries. In 1914 the college received a setback through the burning of its prin- cipal building, but this has been replaced by a more beautiful structure, which is only one of several additions to the notable group.
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In I911 the Wentworth Institute, a school "of the mechanical arts," with day and evening classes, was chartered. Provision had been made for the school by the will of Arioch Wentworth, a Boston merchant, the first of its buildings on Huntington Avenue and Ruggles Street being erected in 1913. Instruction is given by 46 professors; the number of attendants total 1,564.
The Suffolk Law School established in 1906 by Gleason L. Archer, is quartered at 45 Mt. Vernon Street. Classes extend until nine at night giving opportunity to young men who can come at no other time. The day school carries the larger attendance. The number of students reg- istered in 1924 was 1,512.
The Portia Law School for women is one of the newer vigorous additions to the educational advantages of Boston. Both of these law schools are empowered to grant degrees. The attendance at the Portia Law School averages well over three hundred.
One may not overlook the theological schools of Metropolitan Boston in a record of the institutions of higher learning, for the largest group of theological students of the various creeds to be found in our country are clustered in this former home of the Puritans. In 1880 the St. John's Theological Seminary, Roman Catholic, was founded. Its secluded grounds in Brighton with their Norman styled building, is one of the beauties of that section of Boston. Other higher schools of the Catholic church are the Notre Dame Academy in the Fenway, and the compara- tively new Emmanuel College for women which, in 1923, conferred upon the members of the graduating class, the first collegiate degrees given by a New England Catholic college for women. Mention has already been made of the larger Protestant theological schools of the district, such as Harvard, Boston University, Episcopal of Cambridge, Newton, of that city, to which should be added the Gordon Bible College and the Eastern Nazarene College in Wollaston.
University Extension Work-University extension work comes prop- erly in close sequence to the educational institutions and in the numbers reached surpass the universities and colleges. The Lowell Institute, of which an account is given elsewhere, is, in a measure, the father of the extension movement. In 1910 through the Lowell Institute the Com- mission on University Extension came into being for the purpose of extending to the public through its corps of lecturers, the resources of the city's chief institutions of learning. The courses provided by the commission offer to the mature the chance to continue such academic work as has been interrupted, or cannot be pursued except in the means
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provided by the Extension. About two thousand annually receive the educational advantages given under the direction of this commission. The State Board of Education, under its Division of University Exten- sion has, since 1915, by lectures and correspondence, widely extended its educational service. The figures for 1924 give the impressive number of 35,123 on its lists; 25,633 were in classes, and 9,490 in correspondence courses. The largest work in both the Commission and State Depart- ment is in English, the commercial, language and history ranking next in point of numbers enrolled.
Boston a Cultural Center-Education now means far more than was ever conceived of by the Puritan fathers who were so desirous "Foras- much as it greatly concerns the welfare of this country that the youth should be educated, not only in good literature but sound doctrine . . . " Our "youths" do more than learn from "literature" good or otherwise ; neither do they go to schools only to be trained in religious doctrine; nor does education cease with the foundational studies and technical train- ing. There is that thing which is called "culture," a refinement of the mind and morals and tastes, which is an integral part of education, but which comes only incidentally during the years of study in the regular schools. Along the lines of culture, Boston has, and gives, opportunities seldom equaled in the cities of our land. It is "a center of culture" and has been such for a longer period than any other place in these United States. Some of its advantages as a cultural center have already been mentioned, and there is neither the need nor the space to enter here upon any attempt at an inclusive description of the means provided. But no account of the development of Boston should fail to draw attention to at least a few of the movements and institutions which have given the city so high a position among the cultural leaders of the land.
History of Music in the City-Take the history of music in Boston, music an art and a pleasure almost considered by the Puritan to be of the Devil. To the Puritans, by the way, we can hardly trace the present place of Boston in musical taste and culture. For half of the existence of the metropolis, the psalm was practically the only contribution of Boston to music. Music had to come from a different clime than did our forefathers. One Gottlieb Graupner, a German musician and piano-forte teacher, settled at Boston in 1798. He probably was the pioneer teacher of real music, or, if not the pioneer, then the first important leader. He it was who formed, 1810, the "Philo-harmonic Society" which continued to function as late as 1824, when it gave a concert at the Pantheon on Boylston Square. It was the beginning of a town orchestra, an organ- ization that had to come before there could be oratorio singing. There
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was also a skilled English organist, G. K. Jackson, who came to Boston just before 1812, who played in the few churches having organs at that time, and although nothing is on record concerning his connection with the larger musical efforts of the time, perhaps credit should be given to the mother country through him for some of the first musical awaken- ings in the town.
The end of the War of 1812 gave an opportunity for the first musical festival (held in 1815) known as the Peace Jubilee. The famous Park Street Church Choir and the Philo-harmonic were, of course, the prin- cipals in the affair. From the choir came the Handel and Haydn Soci- ety, the first oratorio society of New England. A meeting was called by those interested, headed by Graupner, Thomas Smith Webb and Asa Peabody, for "the cultivating and improving a correct taste in the per- formance of sacred music," March 30, 1815, and the Handel and Haydn Society was duly organized then, a constitution being adopted on the 20th of April. An account of the history of this society may be found in another chapter. The publications of the Handel and Haydn were the strongest influence in the musical development of that day, it having issued a number of books of anthems, masses, choruses, etc., all from the best masters. In 1821, the society sent out a collection, selected and harmonized by Lowell Mason. Dr. Mason's book ran through a number of editions, becoming the standard work for the use of "singing schools," and later, of choirs. William H. Eliot is another name that must be mentioned, if only for his starting of a vogue for glee clubs. Then, too, there was the Brigade Band (1825) which was a real band indeed, and played good music.
Boston Academy of Music-During this first period of Boston musical history was born the Boston Academy of Music (1833) which had a splendid but brief, fifteen years' existence. Its aim was educational and, in its work, very ready assistance was given by Lowell Mason, George J. Webb and Samuel A. Eliot. The first two became teachers in the school and others came, several of whom did notable work in later years. It introduced music into the schools; classes for teachers were formed so as to prepare them to lead in this new branch of instruction. Hope was held out of making the academy a real conservatory of music, like those that were then extant abroad. An orchestra was formed, oratorios were given, publications issued, and many concerts were staged. It was to instrumental concerts of classic music that the academy finally gave the most of its attention. These undoubtedly were very fine, but were too limited in character to hold continued affection. Classical music at this time also meant principally German music. The spring of 1847 brought Signor Marti's Havana troupe of opera singers who sang only
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Italian works. The company caught the fancy of the populace. Italian opera reigned in Boston, many awakening to it as they never had risen or could rise to Handel and Beethoven. That same year, 1847, the acad- emy concerts ceased for the lack of auditors. It is only fair to state here that Italian opera, and for that matter any opera, did not gain a permanent hold in Boston until years later, and it has never held as high a place musically as other forms of public music.
The Older Musical Societies-While it is not the object of this article to attempt to trace the musical history of Boston, but rather of the schools of music, the temptation is very great to mention some of the influences, clubs, societies and individuals that helped to make history. The Boston Academy played its rôle and left the stage. But the Musical Education Society continued the work of the academy for many years. There was also a Philharmonic Society which sprang up to furnish music in accord with the changing taste. The Musical Fund Society, an organization of musicians, also gave public concerts immediately after the demise of the academy.
But what was probably the most influential of the musical move- ments at this prior to 1850 period, was what is now known as "chamber music," the pioneer in which was the Harvard Musical Association, founded in 1837, and which has come down to the present day. This association was founded as a sort of social union by Harvard alumni. It started a library of music; aided in the introduction of musical education in Harvard University ; fathered the "Dwight's Journal of Music," one of the best of its kind and which lived for thirty years; was one of the prime movers in the building of the Music Hall, opened in 1852. But princi- pally the Harvard Association devoted its attention to giving concerts and the development of chamber music. There was also that first of the traveling musical organizations, the Mendelssohn Quintette, specializ- ing on this class of music and making tours through this country and abroad.
Music festivals seem to have been the favorite tuneful dissipation of Boston for many years. As we have seen, the close of the War of 1812. gave the excuse for the first; then the opening of the Music Hall in 1852 was the occasion of another. The placing of the "Great Organ" in the Music Hall, 1863, was celebrated with one of the greatest of the "Festivals" as well it might, for the organ was the largest in this country and was surpassed by only one or two in Europe. During the Civil War, musical interest waned in Boston but quickly revived at its end, the revival being marked by what was probably the monster of musical festivals in 1869. Both this affair and another in 1872 were under the direction of P. S. Gilmore and greatly stimulated interest by
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the introduction to American audiences of some of the finest of the European bands.
"Singing Clubs"-The "singing clubs" of the last century had an in- fluence wide and real, one that never has completely passed. The pioneer of these clubs was the Liedertafel, 1848, which later became the Orpheus Musical Society. The Apollo Club, a male voice body, was formed in 1871; in 1873, the Boylston, a male chorus, was started; in 1877 came the Cecilia, a mixed voice club; and in 1879 the Euterpe Soci- ety, not strictly in this class, appeared. The Arlington Club took the place occupied by the Boylston. What amounted to a revival of orches- tral music came in the early eighties with the organizing of the Phil- harmonic Orchestra, the leader, Bernard Listermann, trying to estab- lish a series of yearly concerts with moderate prices of admission. His scheme failed of success, but was of some genuine benefit in that it led to the formation of the Boston Orchestral Club. Perhaps the most not- able influence in this period was that exerted by Henry Lee Higginson, who, in 1881, undertook the financial risk of giving twenty public orches- tral concerts played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The story of this famous organization has been brilliantly told by M. A. DeW. Howe, who derived the material used from Major Higginson. Appropriately, this book was issued in 1914 on Major Higginson's birthday. The story is replete with great names, with George Henschel, Wilhelm Gericke, Nikisch, Paur, Gericke's again, and Dr. Muck, leading. There is the tale of the abandonment of the Music Hall and the building of Symphony Hall in Back Bay. The development of the "Pops," popular concerts by the orchestra during the early summer months, with a mild dash of Bohemianism thrown in by the aid of light drinks and lighter edibles served at little tables, date from 1888. The "Pops" are a distinctive Boston institution, one to be cherished, but one threatened with extinc- tion if the rumors that are rife as this is written be true.
Boston and the Opera-The placing of Symphony Hall and the Bos- ton Opera House close to the Conservatory of Music, has made this section of the city very definitely the musical center of Boston. Eben D. Jordan's name is almost intimately connected with the Opera House enterprise, the intention being of having not only a place for the pre- sentation of opera, but that the presentation should be by a Boston organization. This was to be permanent grand opera, something very different from the lack of system then in force. Unfortunately for the idea, the World War came in 1914 with its breaking down of both wealth and interest. The Opera House and the intended company received a decided but supposedly temporary set back. In 1916, however, the Opera House was sold and is now a theatre.
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This brief relation of some of Boston's musical history only bears indirectly on the subject of musical education. We must go back to the Civil War times to find the beginnings of the present schools. In 1867, two conservatories were founded, the Boston Conservatory on February II, 1867, and the New England Conservatory just a week later. The former was the enterprise of the accomplished musician, Julius Eich- burg, who grouped about himself a number of efficient teachers. The Violin School became the most noteworthy and graduated many who made names for themselves on this instrument. The institution served its useful purposes almost to the death of Eichburg thirty years later.
The New England Conservatory, possibly the greatest of its kind in this country, was fathered by Dr. Eben Tourjée. He had experimented before this with such schools in his native Rhode Island, but the field in Boston proved ready for his seed and slowly grew into a thoroughly good institution. Pupils have numbered 1,500 at times. Many, possibly most, of the earlier music teachers in Boston and the vicinity either taught or were taught in the institution. Concerts were, and still are, given in numbers now going into the thousands, at which leading artists appear. After the death of Dr. Tourjée, the Conservatory was reorganized on a more permanent basis, under the control of a board of trustees, and took on a new and greater importance and effectiveness.
The Fine Arts-The cultivation of the fine arts in America began in Boston-the town founded by a people who frowned on anything made in the graven image of God, or in likeness of His creations. The found- ers were not poor, as a whole, and they were familiar with the paintings and decorations of the homes of the wealthy in England. But so severe were they in their repudiation of anything that savored of ease and irre- ligion that most of the pleasant things of life were forbidden and many of the arts and graces of living put aside. It is not strange, then, that Boston has no art history dating back of the second history of its exist- ence-in other words, for one-third of the city's life. The beginnings were but small, and, as was natural in a new country, consisted mainly of portraits painted for those of means. Bishop Berkeley, he of the line "Westward the course of empire takes its way," brought with him the first portrait painter of the colony, the earlier "Limners" hardly meriting such a title. This was in 1725, and the man was Peter Pelham. He was a painter of sorts, a good teacher who established what was probably the first art school in Boston "near the Town Dock." He taught in this school the common branches of learning together with dancing, painting and needlework. Pelham's name means most in the art story of Boston in being that of the step-father of Copley. A few years after Pelham's arrival came John Smibert, a Scotsman who had advanced from the painting of coaches in London to that of making portraits.
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