Gothic Architecture - 20th Century and Beyond

At the turn of the 20th Century, technological developments such as the light bulb, the elevator, and steel framing caused many to see architecture that used load-bearing masonry as obsolete. Steel framing supplanted the non-ornamental functions of rib vaults and flying buttresses. Some architects used Neo-Gothic tracery as applied ornament to an iron skeleton underneath, for example in Cass Gilbert’s 1907 Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York and Raymond Hood’s 1922 Tribune Tower in Chicago. But over the first half of the century, Neo-Gothic became supplanted by Modernism. Some in the Modern Movement saw the Gothic tradition of architectural form entirely in terms of the “honest expression” of the technology of the day, and saw themselves as the rightful heir to this tradition, with their rectangular frames and exposed iron girders.

In the United States, the focus of the Gothic Revival appeared to linger on college campuses. The renovation and reconstruction on American campuses, such as that performed at both Yale University in Connecticut and Boston College in Massachusetts helped to create a style of its own, known as Collegiate Gothic. A blend of modern technology and archaic styling was used to create the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture. As a result, the Gothic style could be used on even larger structures than before. The Cathedral of Learning, a skyscraper on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh designed by Charles Klauder, is an example of this expanded size due to these blended skills. These buildings were not limited to campuses in the Northeastern United States, however. Oglethorpe University, located in Atlanta, Georgia, continues to design and build structures in the Collegiate Gothic style, even into the twenty-first century. Much of the American Gothic movement was dominated by the Collegiate Gothic. Ralph Adams Cram was a leading designer of American Gothic buildings, who claimed the New York City landmark, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine as well as buildings of the Collegiate Gothic style.

The influence of the Gothic Revival continues to be felt. Despite falling out of favor in the 1940s, Gothic style buildings are still being built. The buildings of Whitman College, a planned residential college on the campus of Princeton University, have been designed with Gothic style and detailing. The architect commissioned to design these buildings, Demetri Porphyrios, has won several similar commissions in the past when student bodies on these campuses voted for his work. These results suggest that even though the Gothic design is not currently in favor with the committees that design university campuses, the Gothic style architecture remains popular among the general public.

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