Many books have been written about the University of Chicago over its 120-year history, but most of them focus on the intellectual environment, favoring its great thinkers and their many breakthroughs. Yet for the students and scholars who live and work here, the physical university - its stately buildings and beautiful grounds - forms an important part of its character. "Building Ideas: An Architectural Guide to the University of Chicago" explores the environment that has supported more than a century of exceptional thinkers. This photographic guide traces the evolution of campus architecture from the university's founding in 1890 to its plans for the twenty-first century. When William Rainey Harper, the university's first president, and the trustees decided to build a set of Gothic quadrangles, they created a visual link to European precursors and made a bold statement about the future of higher education in the United States. Since then the university has regularly commissioned forward-thinking architects to design buildings that expand - or explode - traditional ideals while redefining the contemporary campus. Full of panoramic photographs and exquisite details, "Building Ideas" features the work of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Ives Cobb, Holabird & Roche, Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Netsch, Ricardo Legorreta, Rafael Vinoly, Cesar Pelli, Helmut Jahn, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The guide also includes guest commentaries by prominent architects and other notable public figures. It is the perfect collection for Chicago alumni and students, Hyde Park residents and visitors, and anyone inspired by the institutional ideas and aspirations of architecture.

-- Why did Northwestern build its campus and a new town around it rather than locate in Chicago, where the University's founders first met?
-- Which 1855 amendment to the University's charter caused the most debate in the Illinois Legislature: to prohibit the sale of liquor within four miles of campus or to exempt Northwestern property from real estate taxes?
-- What was the relationship between Frances Willard, the first dean of women, and Henry Fowler, University president?
-- Why did NU students hang John D. Rockefeller in effigy during a protest rally in the 1930's?

Find out the answers to these questions, as well as a host of other wonderful stories in Northwestern University: Celebrating 150 Years, the new anecdotal history of Northwestern. Published in celebration of the university's sesquicentennial and filled with historical and contemporary photos, this full-color book chronicles Northwestern's fascinating history, from the effort to found "an institution of the highest order" through the rise of the modern university.

Now available in a 55-minute video

Produced by Scott Craig Productions and the Sesquicentennial Office, Northwestern's video history is now available. Northwestern: Moments in Time premiered on October 21, 2000 and was received warmly by audiences. The 55-minute video provides a touching and entertaining look at Northwestern's first 150 years. The videotape is available now for only $10 while supplies last.