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From the exhibition

Sketch Plan for Proposed Morgan Library Museum

Whitney Warren Jr., American, 1864–1943 · 1900

Sketch Plan for Proposed Morgan Library Museum
Architect Whitney Warren Jr.'s design proposal for J. Pierpont Morgan's private library collection presents a formal Beaux-Arts composition centered on a circular vestibule. The plan demonstrates classical symmetry with a main reading room positioned prominently, flanked by rectangular galleries and ancillary spaces. Warren's scheme organizes the collection around ceremonial circulation, reflecting early twentieth-century museum practices that prioritized hierarchical visitor experience. The blue-inked architectural elements—walls, entries, and structural features—contrast with delicate floor plan details and surrounding landscape notations, illustrating the layered design process of monumental public institutions during the Progressive Era.

Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com CC0