The Butler's historic building, a McKim, Mead and White masterpiece, was designed in the Italian Renaissance style. This architectural team which also designed The Plaza Hotel in NYC and many other neoclassical buildings across America, pays tribute to the Medici family which ruled Florence centuries ago. In fact when you stand on the portico of this 1919 building and look up to the mosaic tile work in the ceiling, you will see two portraits, one of the Medici ruler Cosmo de Medici and ``The Warrior Pope``, Julius II! Note that the architects placed in the niches at the front of the building, sculptures of Apollo and Minerva from Greek mythology. Remember that the Renaissance Italians looked up to the ancient Greeks. It was not uncommon for a prominent Italian family in the fourteen and fifteen hundreds to exhibit Greek sculptures to signify the extent of their level of culture. Stop by the Butler and be sure to look up!
