S P O T L I G H T
The Many Names of Taft
M
ore than any other, it is the Taft name that finds its home all over campus. Certainly, one expects to find a building named after the founder, Horace Dutton Taft. But who are all the others we hear so much about, especially those whose names adorn Charles Phelps Taft Hall and the Hulbert Taft, Jr., Library? Horace Taft was loyally supported by his family, a tradition that continues long after his own tenure as headmaster here. CHARLES PHELPS TAFT 1843-1929
Although other members of this prestigious family made names for themselves as justices, ministers, senators, and presidents, it was Charles Phelps Taft who made the family’s influence most deeply felt in Cincinnati. A half-brother to Horace (his mother was Fannie Phelps; Horace’s—and William’s—was Louise Marie Torrey), Charles bought the Cincinnati Times and later the Star and soon conceived the idea of leasing wires to gather news for his papers. He later became a director of the Associated Press. Along with his wife, Annie, he supported every phase of cultural and business life in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati Symphony, the University of Cincinnati, the zoological society, museums, and an opera. Together, they traveled the world building an art collection they later gave to the city. Charles briefly tried his hand in politics as a congressman from 1895 to 1897. After his brother Peter died, Peter’s son Hulbert went to work for Charles at the Times-Star and stayed there for more than fifty years. Hulbert, Jr. ’26 followed in his fathers’ footsteps. Charles had four children: Jane, David, Anna, and Charles Howard [Charles Phelps Taft II ’13 was his nephew, son of William]. There is no long dedication to this philanthropic brother, only an oil portrait of him in the lobby and a beautifully carved cornerstone that bears his name and the year it was built—1929. Long referred to as the “new building” [as opposed to the 1912 Horace Dutton Taft Hall, which was called the “old building”], today it is commonly called CPT and encompasses the Woolworth Faculty Room, the Choral Room, history and language classrooms, Bingham Auditorium, and three floors of dormitory rooms upstairs for upper middle and senior boys. Taft Bulletin
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