The New York Times reported that Professor of Geology Thomas Hills and his students had nearly completed a very large-scale topographical map of the world on the inside wall and ceilings of the cylindrical staircase in the tower in Ely Hall.  The three-color map extended over a wall space about 16 feet by 48 feet inside the tower, which is 19 feet in diameter.

“The map, “ The Times said, “is drawn on a modified Gall’s projection, minimizing distortion from the level of the second floor where observers stand.  The Arctic regions, about Lat. 60 degrees N. are drawn on the ceiling in a modified polar projection.  The Antarctic Continent, which could not well be painted on the stairway, appears on the ceiling of the first floor foyer, it its proper place when observed from the entrance level.”