The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Downes Memorial and Clock Tower

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Downes Memorial and Clock Tower, Trinity College (CT)

Institution Name: Trinity College (CT)
Original/Historic Place Name: Downes Memorial and Clock Tower
Location on Campus: adjoins Williams Memorial on the east
Date(s) of Construction:

1958	original construction Willis, Harold Buckley Collens, Willis & Beckonert

Designer: Harold Buckley Willis (Collens, Willis & Beckonert)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Gothic revival, Victorian, Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete

Walls: brick, limestone

Roof: flat roof: presumed asphalt and crushed stone

Function:

ca. 1958	other (Board of Trustees meeting room)
1958-present (2006)	other (clock tower)
1958-present (2006)	faculty offices
1958-present (2006)	administration

Narrative:
Downes Memorial is a refined and subtle example of the survival of Gothic elements on Trinity's campus even as the modern movement was sweeping Europe and America. The choice of Gothic, here recalling late English Perpendicular Gothic, was no doubt due to the fact that Downes formed the link between Burges's Long Walk range, including Williams Memorial, and the Trinity College Chapel. Downes's red brick and limestone walls form an attractive contrast to the rugged brownstone of the Long Walk range/Williams Memorial and the smooth planarity of the Trinity College Chapel.

References:

Knapp, Peter J., and Anne H. Knapp. Trinity College in the Twentieth Century: A History. Hartford, CT: Trinity College, 2000.