Gingerbread Will Go Back on Mem Tower

Pre-war Cantabridgians who have puzzled over Mem Hall's wartime nudity can now rest assured that the situation is only temporary. University work crews will soon start reconstruction work which eventually should place slate, copper, and ironwork decorations back in their old positions atop the tower.

Spring's coming brought an announcement last week from Aldrich Durant '02, Business Manager of the University, that repairs on the old roof will start as soon as other commitments allow. Kenneth J. Conant '15, professor of Architecture, is in charge of redecoration plans.

The removal of decorative railings and pinnacles, necessitated after discovery of dangerous weaknesses in 1945, precipitated a storm of local comment which reached its highest pitch when one irate alumnus described the process as comparable to "drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa."

After a repairman discovered that the pinnacle from which he swung his boat-swain's chair was practically hanging on air, the authorities decided that the ornamentation should be taken down, and the old roofing was replaced by a duration substitute.

Professor Conant's plan call for replacing the wartime roof with the old-style gray slate, adding a touch of red striping for color. He also would return the ironwork fence, the original weather vanes, and the three small pinnacles which rose above each clock face.

In an attempt to come closer to the original architects' design than the final pre-war agglomeration of metalwork, corner pinnacles, small dormer windows above the clock faces, and various gewgaws which were added in 1897 will probably not go back on the tower.