Butler Library

 library, Neoclassical (architecture), movie / film / TV location, 1934_construction

Butler is Columbia's only non-subject-specific library among the twenty on campus. Designed by James Gamble Rogers with ironwork by Samuel Yellin, the site was originally known as South Hall. Later renamed for Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler, it first opened in 1934 as South Hall and now serves as the main undergraduate library, housing the history and humanities collections, twenty-eight million manuscript items, and two of the university’s seven million volumes. The building features the carvings of Rene Paul Chambellan and murals by Griffith Baily Coale and Eugene F. Savage. Its shelving was executed by Snead & Co.

This second building attracts attention much more than the more famous one in front of it, both for the cyclopic dimensions and for the image composed in Neoclassical style. The enormous size of the building is lightened by the large gallery delimited by giant 35' Ionic columns that support an architrave engraved with the names of some of the greatest personalities in history: from Homer to Aristotle, from Virgil to Plato. The massive base opens in the center with a beautiful portal that allows access to this magnificent writing of wisdom.

The rare manuscript library and more than forty departmental and divisional libraries can be found under its roof as well. The first floor of Butler has a café and reading room. There is also a computer lab on the first level, and Butler's main reading rooms have luxurious carrels complete with outlets for laptops and jacks for Internet access.

The people of the Netherlands donated a stained glass window in 1953 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the government of New Amsterdam. The interior and exterior were used as a filming location for "Ghostbusters" (1984). In 1995, the building was restored by Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbot which refinished the fixtures, furniture, lighting, and elevators.

library.columbia.edu/libraries/butler.html
www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/...
exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/butler75...
archive.org/details/ldpd_7722086_000/mode/1up
www.americanbuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/726218