Locating Slavery's Legacies @ Virginia Military Institute

Memorial Object

Plaque/Marker

Lost Cause

Jim Crow

Cram, Ralph Adams

Plaque memorializing Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942) was a highly successful architect and leading proponent for American Gothic Revival and American Collegiate Gothic. Cram was hired by President Holt to design a chapel for Rollins College. The design of the chapel reflected Holt’s desire for a Spanish Mediterranean style, as well as Cram’s preference for “Spanish Classic” and “Spanish Baroque.” A plaque inside the chapel commemorates Cram’s architectural contribution to the building, which was placed before its opening in March 1932.

Cram's interest in the Gothic did not end with architecture. He was a prolific political commentator, disparaging modern democracy and advocating some form of "aristocratic democracy" (Kurlander). In his writings, he condemned many modern inventions, such as gunpowder and the printing press. He also called for the abolition of the Constitution.

His views, colored by a desire to return to a feudal society, also reflected his racism and belief in eugenics. In his book, "Nemesis of Democracy," he wrote extensively about racial "mongrelization," saying, for example, that "the intercourse and mating of people of every known blood, race and status can only appear the blackest and most imbecilic crime in the human calendar" (39). Cram's views were well-known at the time, and he had many critics, so it is interesting that Hamilton Holt--a founding member of the NAACP--overlooked them in his choice of Cram as chapel architect.

Holt, Hamilton

Brass plaque on the south wall near the main chapel entrance, 2ft 2in by 1ft 3in

KNOWLES MEMORIAL CHAPEL: CRAM AND FERGUSON - ARCHITECTS. KIEHNEL AND ELLIOT - ASSOCIATE ARCHITECTS. C.W-HESSLER INCORPORATE - MASTER BUILDER. "EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE THEY LABOUR IN VAIN THAT BUILD IT EXCEPT THE LORD KEEP THE CITY THE WATCHMAN WAKETH BUT IN VAIN."

Rollins College. Cram, Ralph Adams. Holt, Hamilton.

March 29, 1932

1890-1945: Era of the Lost Cause, Jim Crow legal segregation and discrimination, and organized anti-Black racism

Warren, Frances Knowles. Gage, Mabel Knowles.

Rollins College; Winter Park, Florida

Cram Wikidata

Fine Art Spaces on Campus

Cram bio

Cram biography

Kurlander on Cram

Nemesis of Democracy