Sterling Memorial Library

Sterling Memorial Library, opened in 1931, is Yale’s iconic cathedral-like library designed by James Gamble Rogers as the dramatic heart of the university’s Gothic revival campus. Funded by John W. Sterling’s transformative bequest, the building was intended not only to be icon of Yale’s libraries in the 20th century, but to be an almost hallowed symbol of Yale’s intellectual life, complete with a soaring nave, stained-glass windows, and intricately carved stonework. Its central stack tower originally housed more than two million volumes, making it one of the world’s largest open-stack systems when built. Over the decades, Sterling Library became the anchor of Yale’s library system, home to everything from rare materials to bustling reading rooms. A major renovation completed in the 2010s restored the library’s original splendor, ensuring the library remains both a working academic hub and one of the university’s most beloved architectural landmarks for the 21st century.