Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Bryn Mawr College, The Perfect Backdrop for Autumn

Warning - Heavy photo post ahead! 🍂🍁🍂🍁

Hi, folks! Listen, I beg you to understand just how much I love the season of Autumn, and then you'll understand why I am posting so many photographs.

I don't know about you, but once autumn kicks in, I want to scoop it up; place it in my heart and hold on to it for as long as I can. That's why I spend so much time outside; savoring it. And photographing it.

Autumn amplifies all of my senses and causes me to go absolutely insane with excitement. So much so that I will seek a variety of locations that make the perfect backdrop for my favorite season. And, so far, this year's exceptional backdrop has been the Bryn Mawr College campus in Bryn Mawr, PA.

Yet, what I find strange is that even though I was born in Pennsylvania and obviously heard of Bryn Mawr College, I never once visited the town of Bryn Mawr, or the college - until last week. And let me tell you something, I fell head over heels madly in love with it. Being in Bryn Mawr, particularly as the leaves are now changing color, made me realize how much I love the whole Northeast region and terrain of the United States. And how much I feel it in my soul that I belong here. This is where my roots are. I am, without a doubt, a Northeasterner. A Yankee.

Today, I would like to share with you the campus of Bryn Mawr College, which is a private women's liberal arts college founded in 1885. In 1931, Bryn Mawr began accepting men as graduate students, while remaining women-only at the undergraduate level.

Last week, I took a 25-minute train ride from the city out to Bryn Mawr (twice) and had a magical time enjoying the scenery. One of the days I was there, it was overcast; the other was bright and sunny. You'll be able to tell which day from the photographs.

Okay, let's go for a walk...

Bryn Mawr College -

The building directly behind the stone wall is The Benham Gateway Building - (which contains the admissions office)...

This is what the college looked like in the 1920's (M. Carey Thomas Library)...

This is a photo I took from a similar angle of what it looks like presently...

*Fun Fact: One of Bryn Mawr's alumni was actress, Katharine Hepburn...

Katharine Hepburn: 1924-1928

In 1924 Hepburn was admitted to Bryn Mawr College. She struggled with the scholastic demands of university, and once was suspended for smoking in her room. Hepburn was drawn to acting, but roles in college plays were conditional on good grades. Once her marks had improved, she began performing regularly. She performed the lead role in a production of The Woman in the Moon in her senior year, and the positive response it received cemented Hepburn's plans to pursue a theatrical career. She graduated with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.

Isn't the architecture phenomenal? The building's towers and gables, friezes, carvings, and ornamental ironwork, designed by Samuel Yellin, were done in the Gothic revival style...

And speaking of Gothic, as I walked through the grounds of the campus, it felt as though I was on an elaborate movie set of Bram Stoker's Dracula...

Gorgeous, hu?

The longer I walked, the more in awe I became of this stunning campus. I could actually feel the past within the present. There were moments when I would just stop in my tracks and stare at the exquisite detailed craftsmanship that went into creating this magnificent structure...