Top of the Ox
I’ve always considered this place to be my secret spot on campus. One that I could retreat to and never be found. Not surprisingly it probably doesn’t hold that role any longer. Since the renovation of the Oxley Thompson Library the University has been quite proud of the work done including this penthouse reading room.
As an undergraduate I frequented this very spot specifically for its remoteness. Then, just another floor of crowded cold metal book stacks with the occasional 1950s era secretary’s desk under small light-giving windows, it was possible to feel a million miles from the bustle of The Oval’s crisscrossing veins a dozen or so stories below.
Maybe someone at the University too shared my appreciation for the views and solitude of this top floor as the renovation has expanded the magnificence of that cozy desk and window to encompass the entire floor. The Ohio State University is filled with these secret spots and when discovered they offer opportunities for reflection and inspiration unparalleled anywhere else on campus.
Nike Anew
No, this is not the Louvre. Not even close. It’s not Paris, France nor Paris, Ohio nor even Athens, Ohio. It’s Columbus, Ohio. So why on earth is there a life-size replica of the 2nd century BC Greek Winged Nike (or Vicotry) of Samothrace in a New World state that pronounces Versailles – Ver-sales? Well, evidently around the turn of the 20th century classic statuary replicas were all the rage in American architecture. And that’s when this lovely plaster beauty first graced this very hall – the East Reading Room of the Oxley Thompson Memorial Library at The Ohio State University. The crumbling original replica was removed in 1959 and the Reading Room was tragically divided and plundered shortly there after. When rightfully restored to it’s natural splendor in 2009 a new plaster Nike was there to oversee the studious once again. Though she has little personal significance to the library the soaring statue is a wonderful addition to an already wonderful building.
Distant Frigid Memories
On these 90 degree days it’s amazing how distant snow covered ground feels and to think back on how familiar and expected it was at the time. I’d walk outside and not even notice the snow. Of course there should be snow on the ground! I’m actually amazed at how much those of us who live in the more drastic seasonal swing areas endure. I mean seriously. I honestly believe that I have a whole physical and, even more-so, mental skill-set that those living in, say, southern California or Florida can’t even fathom. So maybe they have to deal with fires, earthquakes, alligators and Tom Cruise but they don’t even own coats. The moment they begin buying peacoats for purposes other than being a James Dean look-a-like then I’ll reconsider my judgement.
Anyway, this shot was taken in bitter January looking east across the oval from The Ohio State University’s William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library. I have a lot of memories of nearly all of the halls that ring the oval. I often quiz myself by naming each and their respective colleges. While the vast majority campus barely resembles the one I navigated in the late 1990s these structures have remain nearly unchanged for almost a century.
Renewed Reading Room
The newly restored East Reading Room of The Ohio State University’s William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library in Columbus, Ohio appears to be a big hit. I know I do like it. In fact the whole library has seen somewhat of a rebirth of the old and new alike. In this day in age I’d assume that the needs and wants of the collegiate student has changed quite a bit. The definition of a library has been completely rewritten and I suppose it requires asking whether a tangible representative of a library is even a necessity.
The most simple answer to this is not really. When I was in college in the late 1990s I visited this very library to do research from actual books from time-to-time. That’s a practice that’s quickly going the way of the dodo. The remainder of the time I spent in the OSU main library was for the purpose of escaping the distractions of raucous rooming houses or to brush up on assignments between classes. Unless things have changed more than I know, these situations are timeless.
Usually I never made it beyond the front steps of Orton Hall’s Geology Library and its academic and architectural superiority. Of course this East Reading Room didn’t exist when I was wondering The Oval. Back then, split into two levels, its moldings were removed and windows bricked-in and few probably were around to know anything resembling this photo ever existed. It really was just as bad as it sounds. If it looked this good when I was in school I probably would have accomplished more from my matriculation. I’d be interested to see if such environments contribute more production in the way of learning – like listening to Classical music and the like.
So, are twenty first century students also attracted to more inspiring settings or are book repositories simply obsolete institutions? While it’s unlikely that those researching thesis’ are scouring the stacks like in days of yore students do still gravitate to this monument to learning. Those who wish not to lug around cumbersome laptops pop in to use the library’s many computer terminals (the computer lab seems to be an extinct concept), lounge on comfortable seating in between classes, take naps, watch movies or patron the cafe, which is no slouch itself serving just about anything a starved brain might require. While the student union continues to serve as a kitchen away from home the library seems to play the role of on-campus living room. It’s nice to see that some of the classic symbols of higher education not only survive the changes of time but adapt quite well too.
Welcoming U Home
Well, It’s August, the Big Ten meetings have just finished, the football team has arrived for practice and it won’t be long before students flood the new Ohio Union and break out into questionable mass-choreographed song and dance again. Of course, I waited until classes were out for the summer and the glee had passed before I attempted to navigate a tripod through the crowds and avert head trauma -intentional or not – of titanium to student skull. Surprisingly, there were actually plenty of pupils around and lots of activity in her halls. Even the bar was full in mid-week.
There are many things about the new U that are curious to me, including the schizophrenic interior decoration decisions (is this the new collegiate style of the new millennium?), but I had the most trouble understanding one piece of the Union Puzzle. Chiseled into the stone just above the first floor are lines from the most beloved of all college sing-a-longs in Ohio, Ohio State’s alma mater, Carmen Ohio. While scanning the phrases that surrounded me in syrupy sentimentality, I noticed that they were all out of order. Granted, there are natural breaks created by the architecture of the atrium and the lines of the song, however, would not the most logical arrangement of the lines be to place them in consecutive order, circling the space – that is, left to right, clockwise? Though my tender moment with my alma mater was derailed by utter confusion, the new U is still pretty great in all its quirkiness.
Orton Foyer
Boston is a odd place for adding new appreciation to one of my already favorite buildings in Ohio. I had learned of the high esteem of which Trinity Church had been praised and was desperate to see it. As I studied the architecture, I discovered that among many civic and other educational buildings, Orton Hall, on The Ohio State University Campus, shared the same, so called, Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Trinity Church was built in 1872 and Orton Hall in 1893. I honestly find the style uncomfortably heavy and slightly ugly from the outside. But all you have to do is step into the tiny foyer and Geology Library to gain the full appreciation.
Suspended Stairwell
I really liked this suspended stairwell in the open atrium of the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library at The Ohio State University. It just seemed to glow even though the sunny skies filled the space with bright light through the glass ceiling. There are some great textures in the concrete columns and rich wood paneling. But the stairwell just seemed to magically float in the five story space and I really wanted to make that the focus.
The Stacks
Today The Ohio State University selected a photo of mine of the newly renovated William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library as their Image of the Day. I just noticed that it is also featured on the Ohio State home page! Thanks to the University for that!
As I’ve promised there are plenty more photos of the library and here is one of them. This was taken from the upper floor of the brand spankin’ new west wing. The central structure of the library is actually essentially the same and would be very familiar to those of us who wandered its claustrophobic stacks searching for obscure references. Well now, as you can see, they’ve been liberated with some nice new glass walls! Now we can all share and appreciate the spaces together and no longer will students develop minor anxiety disorders while simply researching an assignment.
William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library
The Ohio State University Main Library reopened last week after years of major renovation. Of course this third major renovation largely corrected baffling decisions made in previous renovations. It’s funny how things work that way.
For example, the photo below is the beautifully restored Grand Reference Hall/East Reading Room. In 1966 they realized that the library wasn’t quite big enough still and, because we know everyone was on reason-inhibiting drugs in ’66, they constructed a hasty partition that divided this lovely space into two floors (I know, empty, wasted space overhead really pisses me off too). They then essentially bricked up the windows in accordance with the new interior design and, for good measure, defaced the plaster-work just to prove that all the work was actually pre-meditated. The restoration work was beautifully done and we’re all happy to see the original room, many of us, for the first time.
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