Suzzallo Library
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Suzzallo Library is the central library of the University of Washington in Seattle, and perhaps the most recognizable building on campus. It is named for Henry Suzzallo, who was president of the University of Washington until he stepped down in 1926, the same year the first phase of the library's construction was completed.
[edit] Architecture
The library's original architects, Charles H. Bebb and Carl F. Gould, called for three structures built in Collegiate Gothic style and arranged in a roughly equilateral triangle with a bell tower in the center. The first phase, which dominates the eastern side of Central Plaza, better known as Red Square, forms the west face of this triangle. The south face of the triangle was completed in 1936 in the second phase of construction. The original plans were abandoned with the third wing of the library, completed in 1963. By this time the University had largely moved away from its earlier architectural style adopting instead modernist concrete and glass forms. A final addition was completed in 1990 with the Kenneth S. Allen Library wing, named for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's father, an associate director of the University library system from 1960 to 1982. The bell tower called for in the original plans was never built. Between the years 2000 and 2002 Suzzallo Library underwent extensive retrofitting to strengthen the structure's integrity as a precaution against the effects of an earthquake. It was still open to the public throughout the entire renovation process, but sections were closed for periods of time.
The 240-foot long Graduate Reading Room features cathedral ceilings and tall stained glass windows and spans the entire third floor of the west face of the library. Its distinctive look is said to have been inspired by Henry Suzzallo's openly-stated belief that universities should be "cathedrals of learning."
Adorning the exterior of the early wings are terra cotta sculptures of influential thinkers and artists selected by the faculty. They include Moses, Louis Pasteur, Dante Alighieri, Shakespeare, Plato, Benjamin Franklin, Justinian I, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herodotus, Adam Smith, Homer, Johann Gutenberg, Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles Darwin and Hugo Grotius. Three figures representing "Mastery", "Inspiration", and "Thought" additionally appear above the main entrance.
[edit] Library Collection
Of the 6 million volumes that make up the University of Washington Libraries collection, approximately 1.6 million are housed in Suzzallo/Allen Library. Along with the Main Collection, Suzzallo/Allen Library also has a Children's Literature, Government Publications, Natural Sciences, and Periodicals collections. The Special Collections contains a Rare Book Collection with books printed pre-1801. The Microforms/Newspapers collection is the largest collection of microform materials in any Association of Researches Library library. [1] Suzzallo Library also houses the main technical services units of the UW Libraries, including the Monographic Services Division and the Serials Services Division.
[edit] See also
- University of Washington Libraries
- Suzzallo and Allen Libraries
- Paula Walker, "Suzzallo Library: Architecture and History", 1998
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