Stories from the First Cathedral 10: What Makes the Bishop Gilbert Hall in the Guild House of the First Cathedral So Spectacular?

I want to continue the story about the Bishop Gilbert Hall. It was an addition to the original Guild House structure. The hall was furnished with children in mind and focusing on their education using stories from the Bible and rich 19th century Christian legends.

When I give tours of the Cathedral I usually end by entering Gilbert Hall. I love to see people's faces as they view very unusual images frozen from their creation in 1905. Here is a summary of images that can be viewed today in this spectacular room, which measures 20 by 40 feet: 

1) A reproduction of Della Robia's reliefs of singing and dancing children. The reliefs are all white and larger than life size.

2) Other large white relief casts of Madonna, David holding the head of Goliath, and St George and the dragon.

3) A mural on wood panels that surround the room represent the legend of the Quest of the Holy Grail. This mural was taken from Sir Edwin Abbey's frieze, "The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail," found in the Boston Library.

Items that once resided in the room but are no longer there are:

1) A collection of shells, rocks, and pictures of the Holy Land. 

2) 50 little oak chairs for Sunday School students. There are one or two left.

3) A large sandbox used for telling bible stories. 

People often ask me why these 1905 items are important. Remember in 1905, children depended on their teacher's ingenuity and their own imagination to learn the Bible stories and legends.  Movie theaters were just beginning to be built, telephones were new and not in very many homes, there were no computers, radios, television, or any other technology, but there was the purest form of communication - ART!

More about art in the First Cathedral to come!