Today as I was talking to my girlfriend, she asked a question that I was unable to answer. She asked me what exactly was the Capstone and how did the University come about being called that? To my amazement I didnt have a clue. I dont know if I knew but just couldnt recall the answer(old age will do that) or whether or not I really didnt know. So before I stuck my foot in my mouth and gave her some bogus answer I thought I would research it first. And what better way to do so than to post and have my tide brother(and sisters) answer for me. So if anyone out there knows this answer or even where I may find the information explaining it please send it this way. I would greatly appreciate it...RTR:BigA:
How did the University get the name the Capstone???
- Thread starter BamaMark71
- Start date
Not much but should help a little!
The University of Alabama is often referred to as "The Capstone" by alumni and friends of the university. "The Capstone" is a nickname for The University of Alabama coined by former UA President G. H. Denny when he referred to the University as the “capstone of the public school system of the state” in 1913. Capstone means 'the top stone or high point.'
The University of Alabama is often referred to as "The Capstone" by alumni and friends of the university. "The Capstone" is a nickname for The University of Alabama coined by former UA President G. H. Denny when he referred to the University as the “capstone of the public school system of the state” in 1913. Capstone means 'the top stone or high point.'
I thought I heard it had something to do relating to the "capstone" on top of Denny Chimes...oh well.
Never say,''I don't know", tell her something if you have to make it up.,like the good recruiting stories!
Hmmm.... Back in the 50s, we thought it meant the obelisk stone atop Denny Chimes (of course, the under lying meaning was also the pinnacle, etc.). I always thought it was similar to the keystone in PA, as the Keystone State. Anyone else know the origin of that? 
Look at their auto tags, and you'll get a hint...
Look at their auto tags, and you'll get a hint...
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I don't know when the name oringinated. But the best stone goes atop the buiding to "cap" off the building, that stone is called the capstone. Alabama is the best and brightest university in the state so it is called the Capstone.
I have a Nike T-shirt that says "The Captsone", someone asked me what that means? I told them it was the only party of the Campus that the Yankees didn't burn down during the Civil War!
Earl/Earle;Hmmm.... Back in the 50s, we thought it meant the obelisk stone atop Denny Chimes (of course, the under lying meaning was also the pinnacle, etc.). I always thought it was similar to the keystone in PA, as the Keystone State. Anyone else know the origin of that?
Well I'm not as old as you but back in the early '60's we thought it was refering to some goof-balls back in the '50s puttimg a bunch of stones in some of the graduates caps! :biggrin:
source: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/symbols.asp?secid=31
At a Jefferson Republican victory rally in October 1802, Pennsylvania was toasted as "the keystone in the federal union," and in the newspaper Aurora the following year the state was referred to as "the keystone in the democratic arch." The modern persistence of this designation is justified in view of the key position of Pennsylvania in the economic, social, and political development of the United States.
Ok, I'll make up a story!
So there were these gangstas that came into t-town. They cornered the university president in front of a "stone" wall. They started bustin "caps" but missed him with every single shot. Instead, they busted a "cap" in the "stone" wall behind him.
Hence the name Capstone.
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Gentlemen, STOP your engines!!
This has to be the easiest question ever posed on Tidefans.
There are two terms in question, capstone and keystone. They are related.
Keystone is simple. When building an arch, either Romanesque or Gothic, the sides are raised, with appropriate scaffolding, then the arch begins to take shape. When the masons get to the point where one stone in the center holds the arch in place, that stone is the "keystone." Look at a map of the United States in its early days and look closely at Pennsylvania. You have one part of the country arching to the right (ending with Maine) and one part arching to the left (ending in Florida). Get it? Doesn't that look like a "keystone?" From a philosophical standpoint, the keystone is the entity that holds things together and makes them work.
Capstone and keystone are almost synonymous. Sometimes the capstone will be the keystone, but in other cases the capstone might be the crowning stone that "tops off" the structure.
Consider education in Alabama. Where does the University fit? EUREKA! There it is as both the keystone and capstone of education in the state. Q.E.D.
By the way, I had this explained to me in 1967 by George Toeffel, one of the all time great chemistry professors at the University. When I started teaching there it was my great honor to work on the same faculty with him. He had a wonderful "feel" for all things Alabama.
People like Toeffel are the ones that made the University the Capstone/Keystone of education in the state.
This has to be the easiest question ever posed on Tidefans.
There are two terms in question, capstone and keystone. They are related.
Keystone is simple. When building an arch, either Romanesque or Gothic, the sides are raised, with appropriate scaffolding, then the arch begins to take shape. When the masons get to the point where one stone in the center holds the arch in place, that stone is the "keystone." Look at a map of the United States in its early days and look closely at Pennsylvania. You have one part of the country arching to the right (ending with Maine) and one part arching to the left (ending in Florida). Get it? Doesn't that look like a "keystone?" From a philosophical standpoint, the keystone is the entity that holds things together and makes them work.
Capstone and keystone are almost synonymous. Sometimes the capstone will be the keystone, but in other cases the capstone might be the crowning stone that "tops off" the structure.
Consider education in Alabama. Where does the University fit? EUREKA! There it is as both the keystone and capstone of education in the state. Q.E.D.
By the way, I had this explained to me in 1967 by George Toeffel, one of the all time great chemistry professors at the University. When I started teaching there it was my great honor to work on the same faculty with him. He had a wonderful "feel" for all things Alabama.
People like Toeffel are the ones that made the University the Capstone/Keystone of education in the state.
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