Something about the Nature of Architecture: The History of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library

Noteworthy Events

Fire at the Art & Architecture building. June 14, 1969

The Art and Architecture Building was ablaze, lighting the summer sky with a fire that stretched through three floors... The New Haven Fire Department arrived less than fifteen minutes after the three alarm blaze was reported and, having protected the ground-floor library with plastic to prevent water damage, went on to combat the fire in the floors above. (Stern, Stamp, 341)

In the early morning of June 14, 1969, a massive fire spread through the Art & Architecture Building, destroying the fourth through seventh floors. The damages totaled $900,000. Arson was suspected at first (including by the Fire Department), but by the end of July 1969, it was officially ruled out and the cause has never been determined. 

Library staff were able to protect the first floor from water leakage, and only 25 books were destroyed. Paul Rudolph equated the burning of the building to the "death of a child" (Vestermark, 8). 

Photograph of the Art and Architecture Building directly after the fire (1969)

Art and Architecture Building interior after the fire (1969)

On December 20, 1987, a car accident occurred at the intersection of York and Chapel streets, with impact smashing the corner window of the library's reading room. According to Vestermark (2011), librarians cleaned up the broken glass themselves until carpenters were able to secure and repair the windows.