A photo essay.
“Quirky is what we do.”
Ann Marlowe, a volunteer with the Institute Library, was speaking off the cuff, but she wasn’t kidding. The 190-year-old library—the now-exceedingly rare membership sort, in this case collecting annual dues starting at $25—is filled with strange and wondrous things, even off the page.
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There’s an ancient adding machine with a crank. An antique globe ringed by wood and metal. Alcoves with plush vintage chairs and an old-school vanity. 75-year-old novels, custom-bound. Modernist orange chairs in a burgeoning music room. Long, peaked skylights hitting stacks of books with columns of daylight.
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Those columns—also rows, thanks to tall windows—are key. Maybe you’ve been to the library for one of the many literary events it holds at night. But daytime is when it really shines.
The Institute Library
847 Chapel St, New Haven (map)
Summer Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-3pm
(203) 562-4045
www.institutelibrary.org
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. To see additional photos, check out the email version of this story.
