The Mosaic Project

 

Vistors to the Hall of Philosophy in recent years, have noticed the beautiful, old tile mosaics on the floor are showing signs of wear. The mosaics are some of the CLSC's most treasured keepsakes. The effects of the elements combined with thousands of footsteps over the years have led to the destruction of many of the tiles.  The mosaics are priceless works of art that require annual repair and maintenance, but sadly, many of them are broken and have become tripping hazards. Margaret Minor, class president, and the CLSC Class of 2000 have been spearheading a campaign to repair these works of art and restore them to their original condition.

 

The Alumni Association and the CLSC Class of 2000 would like to thank Denise William Stebbins, the tile mosaic artist, for all of her hard work on this project. Denise owns Living Glass in Westfield, NY. Her dedication to this project has been outstanding. She has tracked down tiles to match the original ones, laid nearly 150 years ago.  She has faithfully endured weather challenges. She must work around Chautauqua's schedule, limiting the repairs to spring and fall and only when it's warm and dry enough for the materials to function properly. She must work around weddings taking place in the Hall of Philosophy on weekends. She has also patiently dealt with Chautauqua's signage rules and folks who interrupt her work to ask questions or take pictures. Once, she returned to her work to find that someone had run their fingers through the wet cement she had laid down. Still, she preservers and we are so grateful for her talent, knowledge, and passion.

Many thanks also go out to the Class of 2000, but specifically to Karen Paul who skillfully and tenaciously tracked down donations for this project and found the tile artist. Ellen Chamberlin has handwritten every thank you note for each donation made. We are forever grateful for the Tile Mosaic Committee's dedication to this project.

 

 

 

Completed restorations in the spring of 2026:

 

          

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Completed restorations in the fall of 2025:

 

1882, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929, 1978, and 2000

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In April 2025, the 1923 mosaic was restored.  The before picture is on the left. The restored mosaic is on the right.

     

 

        

 

As of October 2024, we are thrilled to announce that restoration work on the CLSC mosaics in the Hall of Philosophy has added 5 more mosaics to the completed list! Check out the final restorations of 1918, 1919, 1920, 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1966 below!

 

 

 

 
The CLSC Class of 2000 is committed to restoring the CLSC mosaics that require repairs. We are immensely grateful for the generous contributions from over 200 donors that we have received thus far for this project.

 

 We have currently achieved 60% of our fundraising goal for restoring all the mosaics. There are 51 mosaics in the Hall of Philosophy, and 25 of them still require restoration. We estimate that the restoration process will take approximately 5 years to complete. Once the restoration is finished, we will implement a maintenance plan to ensure the mosaics' health is preserved on a yearly basis.

 

If you would like to contribute, please click here to donate.

Scroll down to the "Donations" portion of the form to locate
" Repairs for the tile mosaics in the Hall of Philosophy".

 

 

 

Upcoming Mosaic Restoration

 

Currently on the list to be restored are the following pieces

(Photos are from the archive and do not reflect

the current condition of the mosaics)

 

 

            

 

 

 

            

 

 

 

              

 

 

 

 

            

      

 

 

History of the Mosaics at the Hall of Philosophy

 

The original Hall of Philosophy, called the Hall in the Grove, was built in 1879 for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC). Twenty years later, they discovered it needed to be replaced. Green and Wicks, a Buffalo-based architectural firm, were hired to design and oversee the construction of the new hall.

Originally the border of the floor was meant to be a memorial design. When the 14 class presidents met, they changed the design to be a CLSC class border. Classes were encouraged to raise money for the creating of their mosaic. This decision ensured the first 50 classes would have a share to beautifying the Hall of Philosophy and a place where their own individuality could be commemorated. It was suggested each class raise $100 for their mosaic; some classes raised more.

 

After 1906 the mosaics were laid routinely as classes graduated and raised the funds for the mosaic. Each CLSC class from 1882 to 1929 has a unique mosaic that depicts their class year, name, and logo. Three more mosaics were added in 1966, 1978 and 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Rowe

 

 

 

Thomas Rowe, the original President of the Class of 2000, is credited as the founder of The Mosaic Project. He spearheaded the campaign to restore the mosaics, leaving a lasting legacy of artistic and cultural preservation.