UW Neg. #1642 UW Neg. #1642
Paula Walker, Libraries Administration
The University of Washington awaits legislative funding for the renovation of the Suzzallo Library. A review of Suzzallo's architectural and historical significance illustrates the importance of preserving and upgrading this campus landmark.
The University, founded in 1861, moved to its current campus location in 1895, but there was no separate library building until 1909, when the library was located in one of the buildings constructed for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The library soon outgrew these quarters, and when Henry Suzzallo was appointed President of the University in 1915, a new library building became one of his top priorities.
The design for the library was completed in 1923 by Carl F. Gould, Sr. and Charles H. Bebb, Seattle architects of national stature. The building is an example of the Collegiate Tudor Gothic style adopted by the University as part of the 1915 campus plan, also developed by Gould and Bebb.
Called the "soul of the University," Suzzallo Library was central to President Henry Suzzallo's vision of the UW as the "University of a Thousand Years." Ground was broken on April 14, 1923, for the building whose original triangular design called for a carillon tower over 300 feet high in the center of the triangle (illustrated in the drawing above). The first wing, completed in 1926, faces the central plaza and includes the famous and well-loved reading room. The second, southeast wing was constructed in 1935 and followed the original plans of the architects. The exterior and interior of these two wings of the original design include rich and complex details, which contribute to the grandeur of the building.
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Construction views of Suzzallo Library, 1923 and 1935. UW Libraries Special Collections, Manuscripts and University Archives.  |
The exterior is composed of sandstone, precast stone, terra-cotta and brick, with a slate roof. The windows are of leaded glass, with some stained glass.
Eighteen sculptured terra-cotta figures in niches upon the exterior buttresses were selected by the UW faculty in 1923 to symbolize contributions to learning and culture. Allan Clark, a young sculptor from Tacoma, was commissioned by the UW Board of Regents to create the figures, which include Plato, Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin and Gutenberg. Three heroic figures of cast stone depicting "Mastery," "Inspiration" and "Thought," also sculpted by Allan Clark, stand over the portals of the main entrance.
Another detail in the facade is a series of shields, which are the coats of arms of various universities around the world.
Ever since it opened, the second floor reading room has inspired comparisons with the great library reading rooms of the world. A 1927 article in The Pacific Builder and Engineer stated that "This room has been pronounced by experts to be the most beautiful on the continent and is ranked among the most beautiful in the world. It is comparable only to the nave of a cathedral." Today, visitors to campus still are enthralled by the room's richness and beauty. Measuring 65 feet high, 52 feet wide, and 250 feet long, the reading room features a vaulted ceiling elaborately decorated with rich colored and gilded stenciling; oak bookcases topped with a hand-carved frieze representing native plants of Washington State; and tall, traceried windows with leaded glass incorporating 28 Renaissance watermark medallions. At each end of the reading room, a paneled alcove features a hanging lighted globe bearing the names of world explorers. Throughout the room, carved sandstone, wood paneling, and ironwork grills represent the craftsmanship employed in creating this space.
In the 1935 wing, on the third floor to the south of the reading room, is the Smith Room. The Smith Room walls are covered with huge murals painted by Paul M. Gustin and John T. Jacobsen. The murals represent the history and exploration of the Northwest. Stained glass windows feature the seal of the Washington Territory along with the seals of Hudson's Bay Company and the Provisional Government of Oregon. While the Smith Room is not open to visitors now, renovation will allow this historic space to be shared more widely.
Suzzallo Library is an architectural treasure worthy of preservation. Without renovation, the deterioration of the exterior surfaces will continue, and the building will be vulnerable to extensive damage in the earthquakes predicted for the Northwest. No new construction can match the architectural heritage present in the exterior and interior of the Suzzallo Library. The University Libraries seeks your support in obtaining state funding to preserve this landmark building.
