With assistance from the Mellon family, Pitt acquires the 14-acre Frick Acres, seen here in a 1923 map, to further expand campus.
Chancellor John G. Bowman retains architect Charles Klauder to erect a skyscraper for the University of Pittsburgh.
Pitt announces plans to build the tallest academic building in the world. In his statement, Chancellor Bowman first uses the phrase “Cathedral of Learning,” though he reportedly dislikes that name.
Pitt announces the Cathedral of Learning fundraising drive has reached $5.6 million, with the city raising approximately $1.5 million in one week.
Public campaign to raise the final $7 million needed for Cathedral construction begins; this phase includes schoolchildren donating a dime to “buy a brick.”
Ground is broken at the site of the Cathedral of Learning, seen here two days before the start of excavation.
The steel structure of the Cathedral is completed, with Chancellor Bowman driving the final rivet.
Construction halts on the Cathedral due to a lack of funds. It would not resume until 1933. During this stoppage, the University focuses its efforts on growing the Cathedral lawn.
The first classes move into the Cathedral of Learning.
In December 1932, while still under construction — and in 22-degree weather — an interior fire damages seven stories of the building.