Two designs for a new library, prepared in 1935 and 1936, illustrate a curious evolution in architectural taste at Swarthmore. The 1935 version (top) is contemporaneous with the proposal for the observatory and shows a bold, symmetrical massing of rectangular volumes with flat roofs and flush facades, articulated in local stone with horizontal bands of light stone, probably limestone. The two projecting central wings create a recessed entry court overlooking the south end of the football field.

Recessed spandrel panels, possibly of metal, recall the facades of Rockefeller Center and many other landmark buildings of the era. The Martin Biological Laboratory -- the only one of the proposed buildings actually realized in that period -- is distinguished by its use of decorative spandrel panels in the vertical window slots be-tween the stone sections of its facades.

The next year, however, a much more futuristic idea surfaced for the library. Instead of the earlier approach, which incorporated a traditional balance between the vertical window openings and the horizontal stone bands, the vertical elements of the 1936 plan dominate the facades as huge window walls reaching from ground to sky. Even the pencil rendering is bolder and more abstract.

Exciting as this proposal is from an architectural history viewpoint, we are fortunate that funding was not available to realize these dreams. It is interesting that Parrish Hall is not included in the background of either rendering, even though it would have been visible. This was before the days that "contextual" was used in the discussion of architectural design. Kohlberg Hall, which eventually was built on this site, stands as a more comfortable neighbor to Parrish, with its masonry walls and punched windows.