Widener Library
Address31, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number585
Previous Building Number
110
Building Root Number 04935
Building Root Number 04935
Sponsor / Donor (Original)
Eleanor Elkins Widener
Architect (Original)
Horace Trumbauer
Constructed
1915
Building Acquired 1915
Building Acquired 1915
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after Harry Elkins Widener (A.B. 1907), a Harvard alumnus who died in the R.M.S. Titanic disaster in 1912.Historical NotesWidener Library was completed in 1915 on the approximate site of the former library, Gore Hall. The beaux-arts structure was designed by architecture firm of Horace Trumbauer. Recent scholarship suggests that Julian Abele, the Chief Designer for the firm and noted African-American architect, significantly contributed to the design of the building. Widener is considered the centerpiece of the Harvard University Library system and anchors the south end of Tercentenary Theater. The library was a gift to the University from Eleanor Elkins Widener in memory of her son Harry Elkins Widener.Additional InformationHarvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
Weber, Paul J. Photographs of Harvard University Buildings and Grounds Taken by Paul J. Weber, Ca. 1929-1931 and 1939. Harvard University Archives call number HUV 2329
Widener Library. Widener Library Plans. (1913). Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.5
[Widener Library Plans and Photographs] (1915). Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.10 pf
Harvard University. Library. Harry Elkins Widener Library : Proposed Additions and Alterations, 1961. (1961). Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.99.21
Trumbauer, Horace, and Abele, Julian F. Architectural Plans for Widener Library at Harvard University, 1911-1961. (1911). Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.92
"Harry Elkins Widener Library." The Brickbuilder. August 1915, Vol. 24:8, plates 106-111, p. 209. https://books.google.com/books?id=6FUiAQAAMAAJ&dq=editions%3AUSMj1ElEkc4C&pg=RA2-PR49#v=onepage&q=widener&f=false.
General Information About the Widener Library Renovation Project, 1999-2004. Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.94.
"Widener Library Dedicated." Library Journal, July 1, 1915, Vol. 40:7, p.485.
"Discovering Widener Library." Harvard Library Bulletin, 1995, Vol.6:3, p.70-71.
"Widener Library Thirty Years Later." Harvard Library Bulletin, Vol. 6:3, p. 51-56.
Photographs of Alterations Being Made to the Widener Library Memorial Room Wall Above the Fireplace, 12 January 1962. Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.92.1.
The Harvard Library and the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library Building. Cambridge, Mass., 1921. Widener Library call number B 8416.01.
"The Widener Library of Harvard." Literary Digest, July 3, 1915, Vol. 51:1, p.18.
"The Widener Library Cornerstone." The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, Sep 1, 1913, Vol. 22:85, p.212 https://books.google.com/books?id=ASZYAAAAYAAJ&dq=The%20Widener%20Library%20Cornerstone&pg=PA212#v=onepage&q=The%20Widener%20Library%20Cornerstone&f=false.
"Another Word About the Widener." The Dial, Jun 24, 1915, Vol. 59, p.11 https://books.google.com/books?id=12U6AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Another%20Word%20about%20the%20Widener%22&pg=PA11#v=onepage&q=%22Another%20Word%20about%20the%20Widener%22&f=false.
"The Widener Library and the Harvard Yard." The Dial, July 1, 1913, Vol. 55, p.75 https://books.google.com/books?id=4ozPAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22%20The%20Widener%20Library%20and%20the%20Harvard%20Yard%22&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q=%22%20The%20Widener%20Library%20and%20the%20Harvard%20Yard%22&f=false.
"Widener Memorial Library." Public Libraries, Nov 1, 1915, Vol. 20:9, p.427 https://books.google.com/books?id=J7IUAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Widener%20memorial%20library%22%20Libraries&pg=PA427#v=onepage&q=%22Widener%20memorial%20library%22%20Libraries&f=false.
"The Widener Library Memorial Library." The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, Dec 1, 1912, Vol. 21:82, p.242 https://books.google.com/books?id=ty9YAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22THE%20WIDENER%20MEMORIAL%20LIBRARY%20BUILDING%22&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q=%22THE%20WIDENER%20MEMORIAL%20LIBRARY%20BUILDING%22&f=false.
Scrapbook of Thomas Franklin Currier, 1895-1920 (Topics include construction of Widener Library, acquisitions and gifts). Harvard University Archives call number UAIII 50.29.195.3.
Bentinck-Smith, William. "... a memorial to my dear son" : Some Reflections on 65 Years of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library. Cambridge, Mass., 1980. Available at multiple locations. Consult HOLLIS for details.
Framed Floor Plan of Widener Periodical Room, 1914. Harvard University Archives accession 14100.
Historical Memorabilia Collection, undated. (Part of the "Widener Find", Summer 2000, of which it was no. 8 in the original list). Houghton Library call number *2000M-78.
Barnes, John. Graphic Communication for Widener Library [Undergraduate thesis], 1973. Harvard University Archives call number HU 92.73.994.
Trumbauer, Horace. Specification of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library : for Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.88.
Smith, Brian. Digital Photographs [possibly design and construction photographs relating to Widener Library], 2001. Harvard University Archives accession 14431.
Photographs of Library Buildings, Construction, Books Transfer, and Staff, ca. 1912-ca. 1915. Harvard University Archives accession 14436.
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library for Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, AD MCMXIII [contains 11 loose plates of elevations and floor plans inserted in a paper portfolio, bound with a string tie]. Loeb Design Library call number NA 6612 T771 and Harvard University Archives call number UAI 15.92.2.
Cornerstone Plate Facsimile, 1913. Houghton Library call number MS HEW 3.
Ceremonial Brick Trowel, Triangular, Flat, Silver-Plated Steel Blade, with Offset Wooden Handle, 1913. Houghton Library call number MS HEW 2.
Lane, William Coolidge. "The New Harvard Library." Library Journal, Vol. 38:5, May 1913.
"The Improvement of the Widener Building as a Research Center." Harvard Library Bulletin, Vol. 3:1, Winter 1949.
Battles, Matthew. Widener: Biography of a Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard College Library, 2004.
Platt, Fredierick. "Horace Trumbauer: A Life in Architecture." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History, vol. 125, no. 4, 2001, pp. 315-349.
Metcalf, Keyes Dewitt. Planning Acdemic and Research Library Buildings. McGraw Hill, 1965
Metcalf, Keyes Dewitt. Planning the Academic Library: Metcalf and Ellsworth at York. Oriel Press, 1971.
"Widener Strike is Off." Cambridge Chronicle. 22 Nov 1913, p. 1.
Potter, Alfred Claghorn. The Library of Harvard University Descriptive and Historical Notes. Harvard University Press, 1915.
Ireland, Corydon. "100 Years of Widener." Harvard Gazette. 22 May 2015: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/05/100-years-of-widener/
Walsh, Colleen. "Recognizing Architect Julian Abele's Contributions to Harvard." Harvard Gazette. 26 Feb 2020: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/02/recognizing-architect-julian-abeles-contributions-to-harvard/.
“Widener Library: Youthful at the Core.” Harvard Magazine, Jan-Feb. 2002, https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/01/widener-library-youthful.html.
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.
Widener Memorial Room
Loker Reading Room
Atkins Reference Room
Phillips Reading Room
