During the academic year of 1913-14, the University has added to its material equipment by building operations of unprecedented size. The total cost of the new buildings and kindred improvements amounts to about $4,500,000. The sums going to make up the total may be tabulated as follows: Widener Library,  $2,000,000 Freshman Dormitories,  $1,500,000 Medical School Power Plant,  $250,000 Stadium Bridge,  $200,000 Germanic Museum,  $200,000 Tunnel,  $125,000 Museum Extension,  $100,000 Engineering Laboratory,  $100,000     -- Total,  $4,475,000

Below is printed an account of the principal building operations of the past year, and of those which will be inaugurated in the near future.

Widener Dedicated in Fall.

On Wednesday, February 12, 1913, ground was broken for the new Widener Memorial Library, and the corner stone was laid with impressive ceremonies on June 16, 1913. The exterior work on the building is now completed, and the plastering which is at present occupying the workmen, will probably not be finished until August. The tile work, floors, painting, and decorating still remain to be done.

It is expected that the building will be ready for dedication in the fall although the moving in of the books will probably occur at a later date.

The building, constructed of brick and marble, is 275 feet long by 206 feet wide, with the longest dimension, running north and south. The entrance and main facade faces the Sever quadrangle, but the view from Massachusetts Avenue is handsome and dignified.

The first floor is to contain the Widener collection and other rare books, the offices of the library, and stacks. On the second floor is the great main reading room which is larger than Bates Hall in the Boston Public Library, and which offers seats for 375 students. The third floor will furnish space for a book-bindery, photograph room, and the various departmental collections, and also a number of small rooms for seminars, advanced courses, and private study. The total capacity of the library will be 2,500,000 volumes, about the same as the New York Public Library, while its reading rooms will have 500 seats, accommodations for 350 advanced students, and 80 private rooms for professors and visiting scholars.

New Buildings for 1918.

The three Freshman dormitories, Gore, Standish, and Smith Halls, will be ready for occupation by the class of 1918 in the fall.

The painting is now in progress, and all that remains is the finishing of the dining and common rooms, the installation of the kitchen equipment, the completion of the tunnel piping, and a few odds and ends. The buildings are of brick, with stone trimmings, in the colonial style, and are five stories high. Each dormitory has a large common room and a dining hall of sufficient size to accommodate all the occupants of the building.

The Larz Anderson Bridge is a great improvement over the previous structure and is to be entirely completed for Class Day, with the possible exception of the paying. It was built by Larz Anderson, of the class of 1888, in memory of his father, Nicholas Longworth '58. The cement sidewalks are already in place. The bridge is constructed of reenforced concrete with granite and red brick trimmings, and is 440 feet long and 60 feet wide. Its completion marks the end of congested crowds going to the games and exercises in the Stadium.

Medical School's Power House.

The New Power House of the Medical School, costing about $250,000, is now almost completed. It will also furnish power to the Dental School, Huntington Memorial Hospital, the Brigham Hospital, the Children's Hospital, and the Infants' Hospitals. The Brigham Hospital, which is intimately associated with the Medical School, was opened during the year. The Children's Hospital has also been recently completed.

Work on the new Germanic Museum, to cost about $200,000 will be begun in the near future. It will face Kirkland Street, occupying the block between Divinity Avenue and Frisbie Place.

The heating tunnel from the Freshman Dormitories to the yard is progressing rapidly and should be ready for use shortly after College opens in the fall. The cost of construction will be in the neighborhood of $125,000. The subway is to be 8 feet square, of re-enforced concrete construction, and its length is about 1200 feet. The sections from the dormitories to Holyoke Place is practically completed, and at present the sections through Holyoke Place and Linden Street are partly finished.