Beinecke Library Construction Photographs, 1961-1963 Documenting
the construction of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
Library, this collection of photographs captures the transient
stages of a massive, three year project. One of the largest
buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and
manuscripts, the library was designed to have room in the
central tower for 180,000 volumes and in the underground book
stacks for over 600,000 volumes; it now contains well over
500,000 volumes and several million manuscripts. The building,
of Vermont marble and granite, bronze and glass, was designed by
Gordon Bunshaft, of the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill;
the George A. Fuller Construction Company of Hamden, Connecticut
was the general contractor. Work began on the building in 1960
and was completed in 1963. The white, gray-veined marble panes
of the exterior are one and one-quarter inches thick and are
framed by light gray Vermont granite. These marble panels filter
light so that rare materials can b