A Garden in a Law School

A commemorative event held September 30, 2024, dedicated the Northwestern Pritzker Law School garden as The Hortense Mayer Hirsch Quadrangle Garden in honor of the garden’s donor, Hortense Mayer Hirsch.

As Dean Hari Osofsky noted in her welcoming remarks, it was only after multiple relocations between its founding in 1859 and the completion of Levy Mayer Hall in 1926, that the Law School finally found a permanent home. That home, comprised of Levy Mayer Hall and the adjoining courtyard, was established through transformational gifts made in 1923 by Rachel Mayer and her daughter, Hortense Mayer Hirsch, in honor of Rachel’s husband and Hortense’s father, the prominent Chicago attorney Levy Mayer. It is – to the Law School’s knowledge – the only law school in the country whose physical foundation was established by significant gifts from women.

For generations, the Law School’s garden has served, Dean Osofsky noted, as an oasis for students to come together with classmates, friends, and family to briefly escape the demands of their studies. It has also served as a place of beauty and contemplation in the heart of a bustling metropolis for faculty, staff, visitors, and students, embodying Chicago’s motto of “Urbs in Horto” – “A City in a Garden.”

The garden is named the Hortense Mayer Hirsch Quadrangle Garden and maintained in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy through a gift made by Linda K. Smith in 2023 to honor her grandmother and to mark the centennial of Mrs. Hirsch’s 1923 foundational gift. Portraits of Rachel and Hortense, also given by Mrs. Smith, now hang beside the stairs in the entrance of Levy Mayer Hall.

Hortense Mayer Hirsch grew up in Chicago, graduated from Smith College in 1907, and moved to New York upon her marriage to a New York attorney, later giving birth to three children. She was the first recipient of Smith College’s Distinguished Alumna Award, a founder of the pediatric psychiatric movement, a member of the boards of Mt. Sinai Hospital, the YWCA, and Henry Street Settlement House. Mrs. Hirsch also served in leadership positions in the United Jewish Appeal, the New York Association for New Americans, the Play Schools Association, and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. When she turned 100, Mt. Sinai Hospital held a celebration in the pediatric psychiatric ward for Mrs. Hirsch – then still an active hospital trustee – to recognize her lifelong dedication to children’s emotional wellbeing, which had in turn been spurred by the lack of resources to comfort her younger son who passed away from leukemia.

At the dedication of the garden, Mrs. Smith, herself a lawyer, noted that her grandmother had been special to her. During Mrs. Smith’s childhood, her grandmother had taught her the dignity of all people and provided positive experiences in countless, seemingly magical, ways. In adulthood, her grandmother showed Mrs. Smith what it was to be a bridge builder, a door opener for those with unmet needs, and a leader. The gift to name and maintain the garden, Mrs. Smith said, celebrates her grandmother’s legacy, her deep belief in the power of education, her reverence for the law, and her love of gardens.