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Henry Hornbostel was an influential architect in the early twentieth century, who designed landmarks like the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City and the Harding Memorial, US President Warren Harding鈥檚 elaborate tomb. 鈥�,鈥� a new October 2025 release from 麻豆官网 Press, brings to life Hornbostel鈥檚 formative 1893 journey to Europe as a young man. This journey influenced him for the rest of his life, as he designed famous buildings across the country 鈥� and in Pittsburgh, where he built nearly half his works and designed Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 campus. 鈥淭ime Well Spent鈥� includes reproductions and transcriptions of Hornbostel鈥檚 sketchbook and journals, and contextualizes them with essays about the significance of travel in architectural education.

鈥淲e鈥檙e so excited to be publishing this book,鈥� said 麻豆官网 Press Editorial Director . 鈥淎fter several 麻豆官网 publishing services last year, we wanted to add an academic imprint that specialized in areas of campus strength, such as the rich and varied research at the School of Architecture.鈥�

Deep Connections to 麻豆官网

Hornbostel was a nationally-renowned architect, but he was especially successful in Pittsburgh, where he designed landmarks such as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and Rodef Shalom Congregation. He also won the campus design competition for 麻豆官网 鈥� then Carnegie Technical Schools 鈥� and is responsible for many of the most distinctive buildings on campus.

鈥淗is legacy is all around campus, in buildings like Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall and the College of Fine Arts building,鈥� said Don Carter, retired Senior Research Fellow at the Remaking Cities Institute and 麻豆官网 professor. 鈥淗e designed classical buildings, but with industrial materials that fit the character of the university. Buildings that have been added since his time are still respectful of his master plan in terms of their colors and proportions. He created the context for the whole campus!鈥�

Hornbostel was also a professor and Dean in the School of Architecture, where he was known for his dapper dress and larger than life personality. , his students even held a funeral procession and burial for the pet monkey he often brought to class.

鈥淥ne way he taught students was through his buildings,鈥� said Torello. 鈥淭he College of Fine Arts building was designed to offer the experience and benefit of travel to his students at a time when they could not travel 鈥� because the cost was still prohibitive and then because of World War I".

The College of Fine Arts building has frescoes in the Great Hall that depict famous buildings and places. On the outside of the building, sculptural niches were designed to showcase chapters in architectural history. These elements combine to make the building both beautiful and pedagogical.

Other distinctive buildings on campus that Hornbostel designed include Porter Hall, Hamburg Hall, and Baker Hall. Baker Hall is especially notable for its vaulted terracotta staircase, and Hamershlag Hall for its cylindrical temple design intended to hide a smokestack.

Collaboration Within the Libraries

鈥淭he University Libraries were instrumental in making this book happen,鈥� said Torello. 鈥淗ornbostel鈥檚 papers are held in the here, so that鈥檚 how I originally began doing scholarship about him 鈥� and any book is a team project, but this one particularly so 鈥� there were so many different elements involved in the production of this volume!鈥�

One major obstacle to the project was the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed the Archives in the middle of the transcription process. That鈥檚 when the stepped in.

鈥淎s soon as we could, we immediately scanned his journals and sketchbooks in,鈥� said , the digitization projects manager. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very careful about handling this kind of book. We use a book scanner and a counterweighted table, so there鈥檚 very little damage in the process.鈥� These high quality scans allowed Torello to continue transcribing Hornbostel鈥檚 papers while working from home, so the project could go forward even when the world was shut down.

The scans from the digitization lab are also featured in 鈥淭ime Well Spent鈥� as careful reproductions of Hornbostel鈥檚 pages, accompanied by transcriptions that make it far easier to read his ornate cursive. 鈥淲ith the sketchbook in particular, you really get a sense of a young architect dashing about between different sites, hurried sketches overlapping with annotations squeezed in anywhere they fit. This posed quite a design challenge for the facsimile, which needed to honor the original while also making the content more accessible for modern readers,鈥� said , digital projects & publishing specialist responsible for 鈥淭ime Well Spent鈥欌�漵 design.

Martin Aurand, the former architecture librarian and archivist, wrote the book鈥檚 foreword. 鈥淔rancesca spent a lot of time in my office doing transcriptions鈥� he said. 鈥淚f she was stumped we would work together. I spent 30 years thinking about our Hornbostel collection, so I鈥檓 excited for this book to exist.鈥�

The Architecture Archives also provided funding from the Caste endowment and the William Arthur Thomas endowment to bring 鈥淭ime Well Spent鈥� to life.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very fortunate to have such generous endowments,鈥� said Arts and Humanities Librarian . 鈥淎 lot of our collections are kept within opaque boxes and drawers, so this project allows the community to preview what鈥檚 hidden away and what鈥檚 possible within the Archives.鈥�

鈥淭ime Well Spent: An American Architect in Europe, 1983鈥� is available now through .

Riona Duncan is a student writer covering the University Libraries, the ETC, IDeATe, and the 麻豆官网 Press. She is a junior studying Literature & Culture, with an additional major in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. This past summer, she worked as a newsroom intern at 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh鈥檚 NPR news station, and she is also the Public Affairs Director at Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 college radio station WRCT.