Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed the structure, which is made of Vermont marble and granite, bronze, and glass, and was built by the George A. Fuller Construction Company. The structure was started in 1960 and finished in 1963. It was named after Dr. John E. Beinecke, a Yale professor who donated its original materials, including his own collection of books.
In addition to being a library, the building is also home to the Yale Center for British Art and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. It is located near the corner of Wall Street and College Avenue on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
The city chose a classic Beaux-Arts design created by German-born and educated architect P.J. Weber of Chicago in August 1903. The 55,000-square-foot library's construction began in the spring of 1905. The Central Library Carnegie, located at 1000 Fourth Avenue, was dedicated on December 19, 1906. The total cost of the building was $150,000 ($1.5 million in 2006 dollars).
Weber also designed the main branch of the Chicago Public Library, now known as the Harold Washington Library Center. It opened in 1991 after being completed three years behind schedule and nearly $500,000 over budget. The Seattle Central Library is one of only two surviving designs by P.J. Weber, along with the Main Branch Library of the Chicago Public Library.
Weber was born in Germany in 1851 and came to America when he was eight years old. He trained as an architect at the Illinois State University before opening his own office in Chicago in 1880. By 1890, he had become one of the leading architects in America and was commissioned to design many libraries across the country. In 1900, he won the commission to build the Seattle Central Library. He died in Chicago in 1919 at the age of 61.
In addition to its art deco styling, the Seattle Central Library features several other unique architectural elements including a clock tower, stained-glass windows, and a grand reading room.
History of the McKim Building The McKim building of the Central Library in Copley Square, built between 1888 and 1895, is the masterwork of its architect and namesake, Charles Follen McKim of the McKim, Mead & White company. The Central Library was one of several buildings designed by McKim for what was then called the Boston Public Library. The other libraries designed by McKim are all still in use today: the Main Branch Library at 2nd Street and Newbury Avenue in Boston's North End; the Chicago Public Library at 220 South Michigan Boulevard in Chicago; and the San Francisco Public Library at 950 Larkin Street in San Francisco.
Construction on the Central Library began in August 1887 and it was dedicated on May 15, 1895. The building was originally planned to have an underground corridor that would have connected it with City Hall but this was never completed due to lack of funding. The interior of the library features a series of oak panels manufactured by Costichon & Company in France. These panels were created based on drawings by Henry Ives Cobb, who also designed the Boston Public Library's main branch in the Italian Renaissance style. The Central Library remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Boston Public Library has been called the city's "most famous" library because of its prominence during the early 20th century. The library was known as one of the best in America, if not the world.
The American National Library Service The edifice was designed particularly to serve as the American national library, and its architecture and décor emphasize and enhance that mission. It was known as the Library of Congress (or Main) Building until it was named after Thomas Jefferson, the Library's major founder, in 1980.
The building is an architectural masterpiece and a landmark on Capitol Hill. Its design was led by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1757-1820), who also designed many other notable buildings including the Navy Yard Bridge in 1801 and Christ Church in 1800. Latrobe's plans were based on the Roman Pantheon, a famous temple in Rome built around 27 B.C. That designation makes the Library of Congress the first national library in the world.
The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1800, and the building was completed four years later at a cost of $752,000. On March 3, 1802, President John Adams signed into law a bill authorizing the establishment of the United States National Library, which became operational on Wednesday, April 23, 1832. The law was written by Senator William Maclay of Pennsylvania.
In addition to being the national library, the building is also the home of the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress Gales & Seaton Company, the National Archives, and the Office of Management and Budget.
Renaissance architecture by Laurentian Medici/Architectural styles of Northern Italy.
The Laurentian Library was built by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1563 and 1568. It is a magnificent example of Renaissance architecture, with its vast halls, galleries, and reading rooms adorned with paintings, sculptures, and friezes by some of the most important artists of the time. Michelangelo designed and oversaw much of the construction himself. He also decorated the interior with scenes taken from the books he wrote over the course of his career. The library is especially famous for its sculpture collection, which includes works by Giuseppe della Porta, Donatello, and others.
Michelangelo wanted to create a library that would be the equal of those found in European courts at the time, so he used only the best materials available and designed it in a formal Italian style called "Rinascimento". This means "Re-birth" or "Renewal" and refers to the revival of learning and culture that took place in Europe after the Dark Ages.
The building itself is an enormous complex consisting of three main floors plus an attic space.
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