Widener Library

Behind this mass of Corinthian columns and steep stairs are more than 5 miles of books. Widener was built in memory of rare-book collector Harry Elkins Widener, who had the misfortune of returning from England aboard the Titanic. Apparently Harry gave up his seat in a lifeboat to retrieve his favorite book from his stateroom. The Widener family made two stipulations in their library grant: that the building’s exterior mortar or bricks not be altered (Harvard circumvented this by connecting the library to another with a glass breezeway) and that a reading room like Harry’s be built and fresh flowers placed in it daily. Legend states that the bequest also required that students pass a swimming test. The library, unfortunately, is not open to the public.