Seattlest Pix: 09Apr10

"The Reading Room" by Weston Hutchins (westonh) , from the Seattlest Flickr pool

Suzzallo Library, on the UW campus, is arguably one of the finest examples of Collegiate Gothic structures. It is named for Dr. Henry Suzzallo, president of the university at the time and a vigorous proponent of its construction. It was to be, in Suzzallo's words, "the soul of the University." Viewing this photo, how can one sanely argue against that notion?

Underneath all of the stone is a modern steel frame, as famed architects Bebb and Gould were no fools. In the early years of this decade, the Reading Room was closed, every one of it's interior panels was removed and meticulously cataloged, and the building received a seismic upgrade. The panels went back in, as did Warren Magnuson's immense, wooden desk in the north alcove, at which you can sit and read and ponder.

Among Dr. Suzzallo's other gems, he wrote in the 1926 yearbook, the Tyee:

The UW is the farthest West of the American Universities. It looks over the waters which unite the East and West and is neighborly with the peoples and institutions of Asia. It lies on the seam of the garment of world civilization, where the oldest and newest cultures meet. Its location charges it with a special intellectual responsibility to interpret the Orient and the Occident to each other. By the discharge of the simple duty it enlarges common understanding, the one solid ground for our hope of world cooperation and peace.

Words in some buried dusts of history sometimes suggest that Dr. Suzzallo came under some criticism for championing such a grandiose library but, given his diction as evidenced above, we presume he dispatched with the fools quickly. Still, the third wing, as originally envisioned was not built. Only decades later a modern structure abutted the gothic one. And, somewhat sadly, the bell tower was never built.

It's an inspiring space, to be sure, and although it screams of age, it has all the up-to-date appurtenances like all excellent libraries do. You too can enjoy the Seattlest Flickr pool while, say, sitting at Maggie's desk and stitching more of the seams of the garment of world civilization. Thanks, Weston, for sharing this amazing photograph!