SERVICE ALERT: Visitor and alumni access remains suspended until further notice. For ongoing updates, please see Library Status Updates page.
DRAWINGS & ARCHIVES
Avery Library’s Drawings & Archives department collects drawings, photographs, and architectural records documenting architecture and design practices. Our collections focus largely on American and New York City architecture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Major architects and firms whose drawings and records are represented in our archival collections include Louis Sullivan, the Guastavino Company, Emery Roth, Hugh Ferriss, Kahn & Jacobs, Philip Johnson, Gordon Bunshaft, J. Max Bond Jr., Felix Candela, Wallace Harrison, and Max Abramovitz. Our largest collection is the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives. Jointly acquired with The Museum of Modern Art in 2012, it is one of the most comprehensive archives of an American architect.
RESEARCH AND APPOINTMENTS
Research in our collections is by appointment only and conducted in the Drawings & Archives Reading Room. Appointment hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11am to 4pm.
Appointments can be booked minimum one week in advance.
Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, appointments are available to Columbia University faculty and students only.
Click here to find out more about how to request materials and book an appointment.
COLLECTIONS
Our collections include architectural drawings, photographic materials, project and building files, business records, correspondence, and faculty and personal papers. Browse our list of collections, generally arranged by architect or firm name.
CLASSES AND TOURS
We have limited opportunities for classes in the archive for semester Fall 2021. Faculty are welcome to email the department with their request: avery-drawings@columbia.edu.
IMAGING
As of October 4, 2021, Avery's Digital Imaging Services are once again accepting requests for digital photography of special collections materials. Click here for information on how to place an imaging order.