The Eskenazi Museum

IDS FILE PHOTO BY SAM HOUSE The sun sets Oct. 10, 2020, behind the Sample Gates.

The story of the Sample Gates

How one of IU’s most iconic landmarks came to be

By Meghana Rachamadugu

megracha@iu.edu

The Sample Gates is an iconic pair of arches that form the entrance to the Old Crescent — the oldest part of IU’s campus, built between 1884 and 1908. Edson Sample funded the construction project in 1987 and dedicated it to his parents, Louise Waite Sample and Kimsey Ownbey Sample Sr.

In 1883, when Indiana University relocated from South College Avenue and South Morton Street to Kirkwood Avenue, students and faculty wanted to build a gateway for the campus entrance.

Alumni from 1899-1902 created the Arch Fund, but Theodore Rose, from the class of 1875, was already planning a gateway. The Arch Fund was instead used for chimes in the Student Building.

In June 1904, Rose showed his proposal to the IU Board of Trustees, who decided Rose’s plan involved too-narrow arches that would block the entrance to campus. The materials were repurposed for the Rose Well House in 1908.

In 1932, Newell Sanders proposed a gateway to honor the class of 1873. Three years later, architectural revisions were made to accommodate the surrounding campus’s aesthetic.

Over 35 years, alumni and various firms submitted 10 designs for the gates.

In 1961, Eggers & Higgens suggested a gothic style “Fifth Street Gateway,” which is the one we see on campus today. However, the design wasn’t approved until 1968. In 1987, the Sample Gates finished construction at last.

“The gates stand as a monument to those who have gone before us, to the work and vision of all who’ve helped to bring this university to greatness,” former IU president John Ryan said at the dedication ceremony, according to Pride at IU.

Today, the Sample Gates is one of the most popular spots on campus for students, families and others. It’s also a very popular photo spot for both recent graduates and incoming freshmen.

“The Sample Gates, both into the campus and from the campus into the community… are not two paths, but one. For me, it is a coming in, never a going out,” Vice President Kenneth Gros Louis said at the dedication ceremony of the Sample Gates in 1987.

A Guide to visiting the Eskenazi Museum of Art

By Grant Wheeler

grawheel@iu.edu

Located just north of Showalter Fountain, the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art is easily one of the most stunning buildings on campus. Housing thousands of artworks that span centuries and continents, the museum features numerous exhibits across its three floors.

Admission to the museum is free, and the galleries can be visited between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

The iconic building was designed by I.M. Pei, the architect behind the Louvre, and is known for its lack of right angles. The unique space adds a grandiose feeling to the atmosphere and makes it feel as though the building itself were part of the exhibit.

The collections on display come from all over the world, containing art ranging from ancient Sumer to East Asia to Oceania. Some exhibits display works from 30,000 B.C.E., while others feature art from the 2010s. In its 75 years, the Eskenazi museum’s collection has accumulated roughly 45,000 works, displaying about 1,000 of them at a time. Exhibition is not the collection’s only purpose, however. The museum is intensely dedicated to the conservation of its works, with a full team of conservators working to keep the art in good shape. Visitors can see this team at work in the Conservation Studio, as well as attend occasional guest lectures in the Conservation Analytical Laboratory.

The Eskenazi museum also provides therapeutic services centered around art. With programs based in art therapy and wellness, the museum provides important, if often-overlooked, mental health services to the IU and Bloomington communities. Visitors can take part in Open Studios on the last Wednesday of each month during the academic year from 1-4 p.m.

Visitors explore exhibits Nov. 7, 2019, at the Eskenazi Museum of Art.

IDS FILE PHOTO BY ANNA BROWN