Suzzallo Reading Room

Another day on the University of Washington campus, but the sunshine had disappeared so I had to find inside things to do. I spent a quiet afternoon in the Suzzallo Library Reading Room, pictured here. I am sure there are many such rooms on east coast university campuses, and certainly there are places of this grandeur in Europe, but in Seattle there is no place more stunning.

The effect on visitors, there were at least a dozen group tours during the two hours I spent reading, was astounding. You could hear them coming up the stairs talking loudly and clomping along on the stone floors, but the minute they step into the reading room they fall into an awed hush. It doesn't matter the age of the visitors, everyone is quiet for the brief moments they spend in the presence of such splendor.

Nearly everyone takes a photo or two as they pass through, but no one ventures far from the entry doors in the middle of the room. Too bad as they miss this perspective from the south end that helps communicate a much better idea of the size of the room and height of the ceiling.