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Before Beinecke
September/October 2004
Photograph ©Yale University Manuscripts & Archives

As it passed through Hewitt Quadrangle, the 1936 commencement procession crossed over a relatively new addition to the campus: thousands of paving stones installed in 1928, after the war memorial in front of Commons was completed.

When the Beinecke Library was built, in 1963, the brick buildings at right in this photo had to go. So did the paving stones. The Beinecke’s architects covered the quad in cool gray granite, striking a blow for Modern architecture—and skateboarders.  

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