View of main staircase on ground floor at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, from West.

Description View of main staircase on ground floor at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, from West.

Date 23/10/1994

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

Catalogue Number SC 721031

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 44276 CN

Scope and Content Main staircase on ground floor from west, 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 grand entrance with its Imperial-style staircase viewed through an arched doorway. The balustrade is of wrought iron painted black and gold, and the stairs are of dark stone. The window glass engraved with the emblems of the beneficiaries of the library was designed by the architect A R Conlon, and executed by artist Helen Turner. 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/721031

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap