and arresting. The sculpture of the main portal (which 
ought not to be dissociated from the architecture) represents 
the history of writing and is itself not an unworthy episode 
in the history of sculpture. The bay treatment of the wings 
on either side of the entrance, punctuated with buttresses 
symmetrically spaced, gives formality and monumental 
character to this front façade. The figures on the buttresses 
symbolize the fields of knowledge covered by the books in 
the library. At the Wall Street end, the Grand Exhibition 
Room gable stands on the site of  a house which was not 
purchased until the building was under construction. The 
design of the gable, the proportions of which were determined 
by the dimensions of the occupied lot, is an interesting example 
of the original and happy effects often obtained in the 
solution of an unusual problem.
        The Wall Street façade, the least interesting view of the 
building, rises from the sidewalk to a maximum height of 
four stories. The entrance on this side is a small portal decorated 
with a sculptural band representing the arts and sciences 
allied to printing.
        From York Street one obtains a close view of the tower, 
which rises in sharp perspective some fifteen feet back from 
the sidewalk. Hung on the base of the tower, two huge bays 
relieve the general flatness of the secondary building plane. 
The long line of lancets lighting the stacks in the upper 
floor of the two wings which abut the tower gives a continuity 
to the design and an austerity which is relieved by 
the small scale architecture on the street.  The entrance, a 
curious motive with the most interesting detail, is carved 
above the door with the seven panels representing the early 
buildings which housed the library.
       When the present gymnasium is gone, one of the finest 
general views of the library will be from the main court of 
the Sterling Quadrangle. From this angle, a broadside of 
the tower will be presented with the great Reading Room at 
its base.