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Widener Library
Access to material may be restricted.
Access to material may be restricted.

Widener Library

Address31, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number585
Previous Building Number 110
Building Root Number 04935
Sponsor / Donor (Original)
Architect (Original)
Building Acquired 1915
Constructed 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 Information
Atkins Reference Room
Loker Reading Room
Widener Memorial Room
Phillips Reading Room
“Widener Library: Youthful at the Core.” Harvard Magazine, Jan-Feb. 2002, https://harvardmagazine.com/2002/01/widener-library-youthful.html.
Widener Library. Widener Library Plans. (1913). Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.5
"Widener Library Thirty Years Later." Harvard Library Bulletin, Vol. 6:3, p. 51-56.
"Discovering Widener Library." Harvard Library Bulletin, 1995, Vol.6:3, p.70-71.
"Widener Library Dedicated." Library Journal, July 1, 1915, Vol. 40:7, p.485.
General Information About the Widener Library Renovation Project, 1999-2004. Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.94.
[Widener Library Plans and Photographs] (1915). Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.10 pf
"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 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.
"The Widener Library of Harvard." Literary Digest, July 3, 1915, Vol. 51:1, p.18.
Trumbauer, Horace. Specification of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library : for Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Archives call number HUB 1878.88.
Barnes, John. Graphic Communication for Widener Library [Undergraduate thesis], 1973. Harvard University Archives call number HU 92.73.994.
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.
Framed Floor Plan of Widener Periodical Room, 1914. Harvard University Archives accession 14100.
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.
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.
"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.
"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 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.
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
The Harvard Library and the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library Building. Cambridge, Mass., 1921. Widener Library call number B 8416.01.
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.
"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.
Platt, Fredierick. "Horace Trumbauer: A Life in Architecture." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History, vol. 125, no. 4, 2001, pp. 315-349.
Battles, Matthew. Widener: Biography of a Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard College Library, 2004.
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
Ireland, Corydon. "100 Years of Widener." Harvard Gazette. 22 May 2015: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/05/100-years-of-widener/
Potter, Alfred Claghorn. The Library of Harvard University Descriptive and Historical Notes. Harvard University Press, 1915.
"Widener Strike is Off." Cambridge Chronicle. 22 Nov 1913, p. 1.
Metcalf, Keyes Dewitt. Planning the Academic Library: Metcalf and Ellsworth at York. Oriel Press, 1971.
Metcalf, Keyes Dewitt. Planning Acdemic and Research Library Buildings. McGraw Hill, 1965
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/.
Smith, Brian. Digital Photographs [possibly design and construction photographs relating to Widener Library], 2001. Harvard University Archives accession 14431.
"The Improvement of the Widener Building as a Research Center." Harvard Library Bulletin, Vol. 3:1, Winter 1949.
Lane, William Coolidge. "The New Harvard Library." Library Journal, Vol. 38:5, May 1913.
Ceremonial Brick Trowel, Triangular, Flat, Silver-Plated Steel Blade, with Offset Wooden Handle, 1913. Houghton Library call number MS HEW 2.
Cornerstone Plate Facsimile, 1913. Houghton Library call number MS HEW 3.
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.
Photographs of Library Buildings, Construction, Books Transfer, and Staff, ca. 1912-ca. 1915. Harvard University Archives accession 14436.
Harvard University Archives. Construction Management Records, ca. 1953-1986. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 298.8000
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.
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