Norlin Architectural Record


	This was taken in 1977 just after completion. I want to come back briefly to the controversy surrounding this addition. For the campus community, two things happened.

	First, the bay window was covered up. Over the years, that window had become an icon and it was gone. That resentment is still apparent today. It’s no coincidence that the Humanities building has that apse facing Norlin. The design for our science library included a huge bay window overlooking a quad. And that resonated very deeply with the campus. It’s thirty years later and the campus still regrets covering that window.

	Second, this façade doesn’t relate to the surrounding buildings or to the character of the 1939 building. It’s an imposing entrance in a cluster of very warm and fuzzy buildings.

	I feel for Ellsworth Mason. He was Director of Libraries during this addition and would have had to struggle with some tough choices. There was clearly no place else to build. But the campus needed a modern library. He would have had to explain to the campus why the bay window was being covered.