Lisner Hall (formerly Lisner Library)
From GWUEncyc
Building
Title: Lisner Hall (formerly Lisner Library)
Address: 2023 G Street, N.W.
Square and lot, bordering streets: Square 102, lot 838 (G, H, 20th, 21st Street)
Architect: Waldron Faulkner
Date of construction: 1938-39
Original owner: George Washington University
Description: The building was opened on June 1, 1940 as the first structure totally devoted to library use at the University. It was named for Abram Lisner, a merchant, philanthropist, and University Trustee (1909-17, 1919-1938). Designed by Waldron Faulkner, Lisner Hall was built for George Washington University by Charles H. Tompkins in 1935. John Russell Mason, the head librarian, worked closely with architect Faulkner to ensure that the building's design fit its function.
The bold juxtaposition of horizontal and vertical lines reflects the feeling of the Art Moderne movement, although this building does not have the smooth and fluid grace commonly associated with the style. The facade is arranged in a tripartite composition consisting of two, four-story rectilinear blocks, which continue the horizontal line of the adjacent buildings. The horizontal is interrupted by a six-story central pylon whose height is emphasized by the slender windows that rise in ribbon-like lines from the ground floor to the top on either side of the entrance. The brick-faced steel frame building is flanked by two identical structures, Stuart and Bell Halls. Together, they make a cohesive presentation of 1930s institutional architecture, stressing form and line rather than ornamentation.
Historic designation: None
Document Information
Images: 2
Photographic Credit: GW University Historical Photographs Collection
Author or Source: University Archives subject files
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist
For more information about GW history
Contact:
Special Collections Research Center [1]
The Melvin Gelman Library [2]
The George Washington University [3]
2130 H Street, NW Suite 704
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-7549
mailto:archives@gwu.edu
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