Founders Library

Founders Library was named after 17 men who founded the institution and charter that Howard University was issued. In 1929, congress gave over one million dollars for the building of the new library. Ten years later, on January 3rd, Founders Library was open to the public. It was compared to "Aladdin's Palace" with it's $1,000 gold spire and the giant clock that stroked every half hour. Although Blacks weren't given professional jobs in the early 1900s, Albert I. Cassell, a Black man, was the architect of The Founders Library. Albert made the interior furnishings and wood panelings of silver oak. The outside design of the library is a beautiful Georgian style with red, sand-finish brick and limestone trim.