Low Memorial Library and Alma Mater: McKim's Roman Acropolis
Why is it significant?
Stand at the center of the sweeping granite steps of Low Plaza, facing the monumental Roman Pantheon facade of Low Memorial Library.
Key Facts
| Place | Low Memorial Library and Alma Mater: McKim's Roman Acropolis |
|---|---|
| Address | 535 W 116th St, New York, NY 10027, USA |
| Geo Coordinates | 40.80820, -73.96190 |
| Part of Walk | New York: Morningside Heights and Columbia University's Acropolis |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand at the center of the sweeping granite steps of Low Plaza, facing the monumental Roman Pantheon facade of Low Memorial Library. Designed by Charles Follen McKim of the illustrious firm McKim, Mead & White and completed in 1897, this majestic building forms the architectural and symbolic apex of Columbia's campus. McKim envisioned the campus as an American Acropolis, an enlightened sanctuary of reason and classical harmony elevated high above the commercial bustle of Manhattan.
Seated on the granite pedestal directly before you is Alma Mater, the celebrated gilded bronze sculpture created in 1903 by master sculptor Daniel Chester French, who later sculpted the seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Draped in academic robes and crowned with a laurel wreath, Alma Mater extends her right hand in welcoming gesture, holding a scepter topped by four ears of wheat. Look closely inside the deep folds of her gown near her left knee to spot a hidden bronze owl, symbolizing wisdom and discernment. Columbia tradition holds that the first student in each incoming freshman class to locate the concealed owl hidden within the folds of Alma Mater's gown will graduate as the class valedictorian.
Low Library was named in memory of Abiel Abbot Low by his son, Columbia President Seth Low, who personally financed its million-dollar construction. The monumental octagonal reading room beneath the 105-foot granite dome is supported by four massive arches of green Connemara marble, though the building ceased functioning as a lending library in 1934, now serving as the ceremonial administrative headquarters of the university.
In April 1968, these plaza steps and the president's office inside Low became the global epicenter of historic student anti-war and civil rights protests that shook American higher education.
Turn east across the plaza toward the exquisite red-brick and limestone chapel standing in the shade of the northern trees.