Grand & Gothic: The History of Deering Library
On display: Riggs Gallery, Deering Level 3
The Charles Deering Memorial Library opened in 1933 as a statement to the world that Northwestern University was a serious institution of learning. Though designed to model the 15th century King’s College Chapel at Cambridge University, the library’s towers, pointed arches, and vaults were part of a larger movement in the early 20th century toward “Collegiate Gothic” architecture. The style linked the heavenly grandeur of medieval cathedrals to the lofty intellectual pursuits of schools.
As then-University Librarian Theodore Koch wrote at the time: “No other architectural style has expressed more adequately the upward-reaching of man’s spirit.” More than 90 years later, this building still evokes awe, pride, inspiration, and an urge to study just a little harder.
Grand & Gothic traces the history of Deering Library, from its conception to today.