Exterior: September 20, 1966[3] Rotunda interior: February 3, 1981[4]
The Low Memorial Library (nicknamed Low) is a building at the center of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus in Upper Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building, located near 116th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, was designed by Charles Follen McKim of the firm McKim, Mead & White. The building was constructed between 1895 and 1897 as the university's central library, although it has contained the university's central administrative offices since 1934. Columbia University president Seth Low funded the building with $1 million (equivalent to $37 million in 2023) and named the edifice in memory of his father, Abiel Abbot Low. Low's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is also designated as a National Historic Landmark.
Low is arranged in the shape of a Greek cross. Three sets of stairs on the library's south side lead to a colonnade with a frieze describing its founding. The steps contain Daniel Chester French's sculpture Alma Mater, a university symbol. The library is four stories tall, excluding a ground-level basement. The building's raised first floor has an entrance vestibule, as well as an ambulatory around an octagonal rotunda, which leads to offices on the outer walls. The rotunda contains a sky-blue plaster dome and four Vermont granite columns on each of its four sides. The library's stacks could store one-and-a-half million volumes; the east wing hosted the Avery Architectural Library and the north wing hosted Columbia's law library.
The library was built as part of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, which was developed in the 1890s according to a master plan by McKim. When Low Library was completed, it was poorly suited for library use, becoming overcrowded from the early 20th century. Low's central location, however, made it a focal point of the university's campus. Following the completion of the much larger Butler Library in 1934, the Low Memorial Library was converted to administrative offices.
^ abCite error: The named reference nycland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Cultural Resource Information System was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Low Memorial Library" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 20, 1966. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
^Landmarks Preservation Commission 1981, p. 1.
^ abCite error: The named reference nris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 22 Related for: Low Memorial Library information
president Nicholas Murray Butler as expansion plans for LowMemorialLibrary stalled, the new library was funded by Edward Harkness, benefactor of Yale's...
Since 1926, commencement has been held every year on the steps of LowMemorialLibrary with a few exceptions, including notably the 1968 ceremony, which...
126–135. "LowMemorialLibrary, Columbia University, New York". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved December 23, 2019. "LowMemorialLibrary Interior"...
campus, LowMemorialLibrary. Constructed in 1895, the building is still referred to as "LowLibrary" although it has not functioned as a library since...
floor at the entrance of LowMemorialLibrary, on the back of the statue Alma Mater, and in several locations in Butler Library. The depiction of the seal...
the LowMemorialLibrary was built in 1895 to serve as the centerpiece of the new campus. Financed with $1 million of University President Seth Low's own...
two consecutive terms. The trustees have met in dedicated room in LowMemorialLibrary since 1897. They select the President, oversee all faculty and senior...
resemble the ancient Roman Pantheon in Rome, using as inspiration the LowMemorialLibrary in New York City. It was added to the National Register of Historic...
2023-07-03. "Columbia University President Profiles | Columbia University Libraries". library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved...
for Defense Analyses. Following a peaceful demonstration inside the LowLibrary administration building on March 27, 1968, the Columbia Administration...
independent admission, curriculum, and financials. Students share classes, libraries, clubs, sororities, athletic fields, and dining halls with Columbia as...
gave one million dollars of his inheritance from his father for LowMemorialLibrary to be built at the new Columbia University campus. It was dedicated...
The Gould MemorialLibrary (GML; also nicknamed Gould) is a building on the campus of Bronx Community College (BCC), an institution of the City University...
are meant to act as a social meeting place much like the steps of LowMemorialLibrary. Lerner Hall features both a cinema and auditorium named for Roone...
The Low MemorialLibrary, administrative center of Columbia University, was built in his memory by his son, Seth, in 1895. Abiel Abbot Low was the son...
several campus buildings, including the Administration building, LowMemorialLibrary, and which ended only after violent clashes between students and...
by means of professional schools. Legal education was, however, at a very low ebb. The clerks in the law offices were left almost wholly to themselves...
Comic New York was held March 24–25, 2012 at Columbia University's LowMemorialLibrary to mark the occasion, which was organized by Graphic Novels Librarian...
"Columbia Earthscape to be Discontinued June 30, 2009". California Digital Library. 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2024-04-07. "The Where of Grains: On Rob Arnold's...
Sterling MemorialLibrary (SML) is the main library building of the Yale University Library system in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Opened in...
record-low 5.4 percent of applicants to the class of 2025". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved April 14, 2021. "Harvard College Accepts Record-Low 3.43% of...
Global Information
