I brought my camera to campus and captured a few images. I also dug out James C. Morehead, Jr.'s excellent book A Walking Tour of Rice University. Though this book could use some updating it is a wealth of information and will keep me from having to research a few items. This is one of four owl finials in the lobby of Herzstein Hall, which I will probably refer to as the Physics Building in other posts. You can see a good image of the owl on page 25 of the Morehead book (the 2nd revised edition, which I believe is available in the Campus Bookstore). Morehead also relates a story of how these were stolen in 1983, seemingly as part of a prank and later uncovered after a professor solved a riddle. You should hunt down the book and find the full details. These are original to the building and are one of my favorite interior details on campus.
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