Suzzallo Library of the University of Washington, USA

Suzzallo Library is the central library of the University of Washington in Seattle, the United States of America. It was named in honor of Henry Suzzallo, former president of the University of Washington.

The Thammasat University Library collection includes many books published by the University of Washington Press. 

Suzzallo Library was built through the 1920s and 1930s in the Collegiate Gothic style.

This approach, which was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s for educational buildings in the United States and Canada, looked to older traditions in European architecture to make a statement about culture and learning with the buildings on a campus.

Collegiate Gothic was inspired by the English Tudor style, which was seen during the 1400s and 1500s in the United Kingdom, and even older Gothic buildings, seen in Europe from the 1100s to the 1500s.

First developed in France, Gothic architecture is the style of important cathedrals, churches, castles, palaces, universities, and dormitories. By having universities and their libraries designed in this tradition, architects were clearly placing students of their time in the great intellectual tradition of the past.

They looked to continue a tradition, rather than trying to make a building that seemed as up to date as possible, like an airport waiting room. Also, by using European associations, Collegiate Gothic style referred to a general place and time. Modern designs for libraries and other university buildings often have no national references but might be located anywhere in the world. The architects wanted students and ajarns of the University of Washington to be able to dream that they were pursuing their academic goals on the most renowned campuses of Europe.

The Graduate Reading Room spans the entire third floor of the west front of the library. Its look is intended to remind visitors of the great halls of Oxford and Cambridge colleges.

It may have also been in reference to Henry Suzzallo’s belief that universities should be cathedrals of learning.

Decorating the exterior of the wings are sculptures of influential thinkers and artists chosen by instructors. These famous individuals, many of whom are represented in the Thammasat University Library collection, include Moses, Louis Pasteur, Dante Alighieri, Shakespeare, Plato, Benjamin Franklin, Justinian I, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herodotus, Adam Smith, Homer, Johann Gutenberg, Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles Darwin and Hugo Grotius.

Three stone figures representing Thought, Inspiration, and Mastery stand above the main entrance.

Of the six million volumes in the University of Washington Libraries collection, just under two million are housed in Suzzallo/Allen Library.

Henry Suzzallo was president of the University of Washington during a time of controversy.

Dr. Suzzallo was of Croatian origin, born in San Jose, California.

In 1926, Time magazine described him as a man of creditable character and intelligence; hearing of him from his many friends as one in whom force combined with charm, integrity with flexibility of manner.

As a member of the Labor Industries Board, he defended the right of  logging and lumber workers to limit their work day to eight hours.

This was opposed by the governor of Washington, who was an industrialist in the lumber industry. As a result, Suzzallo was dismissed from his post at the University of Washington. Students threatened to strike, but Suzzallo asked them not to.

After his death in Seattle, Washington in 1933, Suzzallo Library was named in his honor.

After an extensive renovation and upgrade about twenty years ago, the website of Mahlum Architects, which worked on the project, stated:

Suzzallo Library’s importance to the psyche of the University of Washington is profound. A powerful symbol of learning, it is monumental in scale and magnificently ornate. Successful restoration and rehabilitation of this landmark involved discreet integration of structural, technology and life-safety upgrades without interfering with the Library’s aesthetic integrity.

Great care was taken to preserve historic interior finishes, particularly within the entry lobby, grand stair, octagon and reading room. The new design introduces an exposed batwing-shaped steel strut that grasps existing trusses over the reading room and anchors them to the core structure. Aside from this dramatic intervention, the new steel bones, structural bracing and seismic upgrades are hidden, restoring the building’s historic beauty and preserving its legacy.

Among the many valuable items in its collection is the Suzzallo Bhutan Book, considered one of the world’s largest books. As the Suzzallo Library website explains,

One of the biggest books in the world compels attention in a country where records are something to strive for. Michael Hawley didn’t start out to make one of the world’s biggest books and while that might be what claimed headlines about Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom, it isn’t the most significant. The project evolved into its 7 foot by 5 foot form as a result of Hawley’s research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working to capture photographically a visual record of field expeditions. Hawley led four separate expeditions to Bhutan where he and a team of MIT and Bhutanese students took photographs with state of the art digital and film equipment. Afterwards Hawley decided that making a giant book from the enormous archive of photographs would allow the reader to “step into” the world of Bhutan… Bhutan, a 2004 gift of an anonymous donor to the Libraries, joined the Book Arts Collection in the Special Collections Division. The Book Arts Collection is a group of 14,000 pieces, both historical and modern, of examples of book making of various forms. While it certainly held the record for size, there are many elements of Bhutan that fits it into a collection of equally stunning works. The lure of the book has long appealed to artists and size always has been a special challenge. Bhutan is reminiscent of the large antiphonaries of the medieval period, books of song meant to be sung from by a large group and big enough for everyone to see… Everything about Bhutan is extraordinary: it is printed with a gallon of ink on a roll of paper longer than a football field. The printing process takes an entire 24 hours for each copy. It weighs 133 pounds making it the heaviest book in Special Collections as well as the biggest. The technical challenges of printing and binding a book of this size and weight are as enormous as the book. As much care went into displaying the book as into creating it. The Libraries commissioned a custom designed exhibition case so that Bhutan could be safely put on display in Suzzallo Library in a way that will not endanger the heavy binding…The book is cinematic. The views from the huge window the book creates are breathtaking-expansive in a way few other books have ever been. Floods of color fill your entire field of vision and portraits are almost human size… Turning the huge pages is a contemplative experience… The book is now on permanent display outside of the Reading Room in Suzzallo Library. Pages are turned once a month.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)