\n\tBy SHANNON O. WELLS<\/p>\n
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\n\tFor an early fall centennial birthday celebration and tribute to Pitt\u2019s flagship building and campus centerpiece, the evening of Friday, Sept. 25, was made to order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tA Harvest Moon glowing overhead, still air and temperatures in the mid-60s attracted an impressive, but not overwhelming crowd gathered to the lawn between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel. Folks of all ages stood in clusters talking and laughing while others relaxed on blankets, blowing bubbles or partaking of light snacks and beverages.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe cinematic light show that brought everyone out on the first night of Homecoming weekend began shortly after 9 p.m., as a laser-created hourglass projected about three-fourths of the way up the Cathedral\u2019s east side counted down the minutes and seconds until the spectacle began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tWhat followed was a concise yet historically comprehensive, technically awe-inspiring montage that compressed 100 years of learning and achievement at Pitt \u2014 embodied by the 42-story Cathedral of Learning \u2014 into a dynamic, power-packed audio-visual odyssey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tMulti-paneled footage and voices highlighted an array of Pitt founders and luminaries, including Cathedral architects and visionaries, along with chancellors past and present, scholars, researchers, athletes, performing artists and even beloved Pittsburgh children\u2019s education icon, the late Fred Rogers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cWhat is essential is invisible to the eye. The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom,\u201d Rogers said in archival footage from a campus speaking engagement.<\/p>\n
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\n\tAmong the inspirational quotes and phrases projected in huge block letters on the 535-foot Cathedral\u2019s windows-and-limestone-motif walls or included:<\/p>\n
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\t\t“When you believe in learning this much, you build a cathedral in its name.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\u201cForty-two stories and 100 years come with a lot of history. And these walls talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\u201cWithin each and every one of us is an undeniable power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t“What you bring here is felt everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA from-the-ground-up visual sequence depicting the tower\u2019s stages of construction \u2014 from crane-assisted steel framing in 1926 to scaffolding that accommodated its ornate Indiana limestone finishing in 1934 \u2014 drew cheers and applause from the rapt crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe cathedral light show, the first of three held at 9 p.m. between Friday and Sunday night, was but one of dozens of activities, displays, mini-festivals, receptions and gatherings held across campus during Homecoming weekend. The celebration was likely enhanced by a 59-0 Pitt Panthers football victory over the Bucknell University Bison on Saturday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe culmination of the Cathedral\u2019s birthday bash took place on an increasingly overcast but pleasant Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cCathy-Palooza: A Cathedral Centennial Celebration\u201d provided a family-friendly carnival on the Cathedral Lawn featuring games and activities. Participants were encouraged to take in a display of material on the Cathedral from the University Archives, build their own Cathedral from plastic bricks while learning about the building’s iconic craftmanship, tour its acclaimed Nationality Rooms at their own pace, and watch for the building\u2019s resident peregrine falcons with representatives from the National Aviary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe event also included a birthday cake and singing of \u201cHappy Birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFusing past and future<\/p>\n
\n\tZachary Brodt, University archivist and records manager in the Pitt Library System since 2015, had a vested interest in checking out the Friday light show. Selecting and providing some of the historic images projected onto the Cathedral\u2019s east side, he acknowledged that this is likely the first time Pitt archives were utilized in such a high-technology display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cI think something of this magnitude, absolutely,\u201d he said, noting that he doesn\u2019t typically take part in the nighttime festivities on Homecoming weekend. \u201cIt\u2019s usually fireworks or laser shows, those kinds of things, nothing quite like this kind of projection onto the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tBrodt said his department\u2019s contribution to Homecoming included archival displays in the Hillman Library on Friday and the Cathedral\u2019s Polish Nationality Room during the \u201cWelcome Back\u201d reception.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cI probably selected the items that I was going to use in my displays maybe a month ago \u2026 but I’ve been working with various University departments pretty much all summer to prepare for the (\u201cCathy-Palooza\u201d) celebration, providing digitized images and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tAlthough the cinematic light show planners showed Brodt something similar they did for another university, he admitted he still didn\u2019t quite know what to expect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cThey’re incorporating historic imagery and kind of telling the history of the University while also kind of looking forward to the future \u2026 thinking about the next 100 years of the Cathedral of Learning and the University,\u201d he said, noting the appropriateness with Pitt\u2019s $3 billion \u201cProving Possible\u201d capital campaign also kicking off. \u201cI’m sure that has to do with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tJoel Ambrose, a Johnstown resident who graduated from Pitt\u2019s Department of Theatre Arts in 2008 and is a longtime Panthers Forward mentor, was enjoying the cinematic display with his wife, Karen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see this building have so much recognition,\u201d Joel said, while sporting a Cathedral of Learning birthday shirt. \u201cIt\u2019s great for people to get a sense of its significance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe couple also visited the Polish Nationality Room archives. \u201cI\u2019m really excited to see what they\u2019re busting out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tA model project<\/p>\n
\n\tThis year, the annual Homecoming event tied in with the 100th anniversary of the Cathedral\u2019s groundbreaking, which took place on Sept. 27, 1926, based on the vision of 10th Pitt chancellor John Gabbert Bowman. At a University Club dinner on Nov. 6, 1924, Bowman announced a new skyscraper classroom building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tPredicting that the structure would be, metaphorically speaking, \u201ca reach for the unattainable,\u201d Bowman explained that \u201csuch expression requires height \u2014 perpendicular lines that run up and up unbroken, ending at an elevation which, as you behold it, sends blood to your fingertips; and at the top there should be no spire, but rather a horizontal skyline, as if to say, \u2018We could go still higher, but the supreme wonder and value of life is not in attainment it is in the attaining, in the growth, in the striving to reach the unattainable.\u2019 That is the spirit of achievement.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe cinematic light show was created and produced in conjunction with Pitt\u2019s Office of University Communications and Marketing (UCM), brand agency partner 160over90, and Mediaquest, a Pittsburgh-based audio, video and lighting production company to celebrate the Cathedral\u2019s 100th groundbreaking anniversary, Pitt Homecoming and the launch of the University\u2019s Proving Possible comprehensive fundraising campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tCreative development for the show took place during the past four months, including conceptualization; refining the visual storytelling of Pitt\u2019s past, present and future; adding striking, state-of-the-art animation; and ultimately producing the film projected onto the Cathedral\u2019s east side facing Heinz Chapel, a University spokesperson shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tTo plan and test the projections, Mediaquest produced a 6-foot scaled Cathedral model to visualize how the light show would appear on the actual building.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe content displayed on the Cathedral marked a collaboration between UCM and the University\u2019s archives and special collections team, including Brodt and Kornelia Tancheva, Hillman University librarian and director of the University library system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tUCM also worked in partnership with the Cathedral of Learning Centennial Celebration committee chaired by Nancy Merritt, vice chancellor of alumni relations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe successful execution of the immersive experience involved many contributing campus units, including the Office of the Chancellor, Finance and Operations; Office of the Provost, and External Relations (Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement and Government Relations, in addition to UCM), which coordinated closely with the City of Pittsburgh and local partners to ensure a smooth and safe experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cWe thank all of our campus and external partners who came together and worked hard to turn a concept and vision into reality,\u201d the Pitt spokesperson noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tHeather McNaught, a senior instructor in the Department of Linguistics for 16 years, said each Homecoming she tells her husband, Jason Lai, that they should go watch the campus display. \u201cAnd this is the first year the weather’s been nice enough. Every year I tell my students to come, and then I don’t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tOf the cinematic light show on the Cathedral, McNaught said she \u201cdidn’t really know what to expect. I’ve heard it’s impressive, and it really was. I think, especially with the 100-year anniversary of the Cathedral, it really paid homage to that and the music and the lights and everything. It was really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tShe called the vivid overlay depiction of the Cathedral\u2019s construction process, along with footage of industrious Pitt students \u201cinspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\u201cSeeing all the amazing things that they’re doing in sports, in medicine, in science, the arts, in engineering \u2014 just the average students doing these amazing things \u2014 because they really are,\u201d she noted. \u201cI see them doing these amazing things every day in my classes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tShannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.<\/p>\n
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\tHave a story idea or news to share? Share it<\/a> with the University Times.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n