Photo: Bain News Service · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons
University · New York City, United States
Low Memorial LibrarySuspected
- Dated
- Dated 1895–97
- Declared purpose
- Columbia University's central library
- Today
- Survives, now administrative offices
- Build time
- About 2 years (1895–97)
- Region
- United States
- Architect of record
- Charles Follen McKim, architect: about 48 when credited (1895, born 1847). Build time on record: about 2 years (1895–97).All architects of record →
- On the list as
- Suspected
Why it's on the list
A domed library finished in about two years, and used as offices since 1934.
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
A domed classical library by Charles Follen McKim at the heart of Columbia's campus, built in about two years.
Why researchers flag it
A domed library finished in about two years, and used as offices since 1934.
Two years
A domed library with a granite-columned portico in about two years.
Library that stopped being one
It became offices in 1934. Researchers ask what the building was really designed to do.
Architect of record
Charles Follen McKim (born 1847) was about 48 when credited with the design in 1895. The Architects of Record page asks how often a young or little-known name delivers a landmark.
Questions worth asking
- Why a Pantheon-style dome for a library?
Possible original uses
- Library or temple
- Administration
What the photos show
Columbia v. Amherst Football - LOC 33149u1 October 1921 · Public domain
Library - Columbia LCCN20146924311910 · Public domain
Library. Columbia University, New York, N. Y (NYPL b12647398-68250)after 1898date QS:P,+189 · Public domain
10292023 Columbia quad book drop rain2023-10-29 12:25:43 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
