Peabody Library- Baltimore, MD

Few things compare to an old library for book lovers. The antiquated card catalog, long abandoned, gathering dust; endless aisles, filled with leather bound books, crumbling with age; the heady fragrance of paper, adhesive, and ink. By far one of the most impressive is the Peabody in Baltimore; an exquisite architectural masterpiece, where the physical structure is every bit as spectacular as the collection it houses.

Funded by an endowment from wealthy financier and philanthropist George Peabody, the library was completed in 1878. Designed by Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind, the neo-Greco interior, with its marble floor and soaring ceiling is evocative of a grand cathedral. Which it is. Between the polished marble below, and the latticed skylight 61 feet above, stand five floors of countless and irreplaceable literary treasures, including a first edition of Darwin’s Origin of Species, and a 1617 edition of Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

The library’s atrium is lined with cast iron ornamental balconies, which add a delicate lightness to the space. Intricate gold scalloped columns stand sentry, with books occupying every visible surface. On the bottom level, the only one readily available to the casual visitor, ancient coffee rings mar the original wooden bookcase ledges. So perfectly imperfect, the wood appears purposefully distressed. With over 300,000 volumes, it is a worthy pilgrimage for both bibliophiles and architecture fans alike.