|
|
| Low Memorial Library
Low’s general architectural style is based on the Pantheon in Rome and the Parthenon in Greece. Designed in the form of a Greek cross, it is crowned by the largest all-granite dome in North America (105 feet high and 70 feet across). The interior of the building consists of Irish, Italian and Istrian marble. The columns that separate the rotunda from the corridor are of solid green marble brought from Ireland. In the entranceway stands a white marble bust of Pallas Athene (Athena), which was modeled after the Minerve du Collier in the Louvre. The twelve signs of the zodiac, which represent knowledge, surround her. Bronze busts of Zeus and Apollo flank the entrance. Located just inside the entrance to Low are the trustees’s boardroom and the university Visitor’s Center. The rotunda was originally the University’s main reading room, but today is used as a venue to award honorary degrees and important academic distinctions. The Pulitzer Prizes, for example, are awarded annually in Low’s rotunda. To see a real time view of the Low Library steps, visit the Center for new Media Teaching and Learning web cam. |
|
Columbia University and all Columbia University logos and |
Constructed in 1895 and named for Columbia’s 12th
president, Seth Low, Low Memorial Library was designed as the architectural center of the Morningside Heights Campus. Today, Low Library houses the
office of the President, as well as being home to the Columbia archival collection. In 1967 it was landmarked by the city of New York. It was actually
used as the university’s library until 1934, when Butler was completed.