1850 – Ste-Genevieve Library, Paris

Architect: Henri Labrouste

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Designed in 1839, and opened in 1851, the library was intended to contain the treasures of a nearby cloister. Like the Old Library in Trinity College Dublin, the library has a two-story reading room on the upper level over a lower level entrance. The reading room has cast iron columns and ornamental trusses supporting a decorative painted vaulted ceiling. It was here that the general uprising of 1968 started with a student protest.

Published November 25, 2009 | Last Updated July 15, 2010