The light standards and bench, left of center, are remnants of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition that was held on the University of Washington campus in 1909. Both views look north into the central campus from near its Northeast 40th Street entrance.

The survivors, Denny and Parrington Halls, cannot be seen from the prospect where I chose to record the "now" scene — although I tried. By moving 20 or so feet east of the historical photographer's position, I violated science in order to look north through the passage between Gerberding Hall on the right and the expanded Meany Hall on the left into the plaza.

In this "now" view, Parrington Hall is hidden behind the east wing of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. The library is the most distant structure evident here. We may link the tallest structures, the three snuggling towers, to the maw in the foreground of the "now" scene. The towers carry the fumes of the underground parking below Central Plaza high above the campus, and the dark hole is the lesser of the two vehicle entrances into the garage.

This writing may be considered a belated review of "The Fountain and the Mountain," by Norman J. Johnston, emeritus professor of architecture at the university. Johnston's engaging pictorial history, published for the 1995 centennial of the "new campus," is the best armchair tour you can take of this beautiful campus. The highlight of the 1995 hoopla was led by the university's then new president Richard McCormick on the front steps of Denny Hall and in the belfry where Brewster Denny rang the bell. Although retired, Denny plans to ring the bell for the university's sesquicentennial celebration in 2011.

Paul Dorpat specializes in historical photography and has published several books on early Seattle.