View of main staircase on half landing at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, from South East.

Description View of main staircase on half landing at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, from South East.

Date 23/10/1994

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 721008

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 44278 CN

Scope and Content Half-landing of main staircase from south-east, National Library of Scotland, No 57 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh The National Library of Scotland was designed by architect Reginald Fairlie (1883-1952) between 1934 and 1936, and built 1937-9 (initial construction period). It was completed 1950-5 with A R Conlon as architect. This Neo-Classical library is nine-storeys high, with two storeys on George IV Bridge, and the remaining seven below the bridge on the Cowgate. This shows the Imperial-style staircase leading from the vestibule to the reading rooms. The stairs and constructed from polished stone with wrought-iron balustrades painted black with gilded highlights. The handrail is of varnished wood. Patterned wallpaper covers the walls, and the ceiling is coffered (divided into recessed panels). The National Library of Scotland evolved from the collection of the Society of Advocates, whose library was inaugurated in 1689. In the 1920s Sir Alexander Grant gifted a fund of £200,000 to construct a new building for the collection, which continues to grow to this day. This building has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/721008

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap