New North Entrance Opens to Transformed Entrance Gallery
MILESTONE 51 — The Hesburgh Library’s 50th anniversary marked a milestone and a new chapter for the iconic building. Honoring Fr. Hesburgh’s original vision for the Library, the University began a major interior renovation project in December 2014, re-imagining the Library’s role for the next 50 years.
“The 50th anniversary events of the past year gave us the opportunity to both celebrate a remarkable past and build upon this foundation to create a leading research library for the 21st century,” said Notre Dame’s President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., in a press release. “Given the ever-changing environment of the digital age, now is the time to make a transformational leap forward through a bold renovation that will keep the Hesburgh Library the centerpiece of Notre Dame’s intellectual pursuits and an enduring symbol of our academic excellence.”
Entrance Gallery Phase of the Hesburgh Library renovation begins
A campus-wide open house event on December 10, 2014, officially launched the Hesburgh Library renovation. Visitors were invited to enjoy holiday sweets, grab a Sharpie, and draw their moniker or a favorite memory on a soon-to-be-removed section of the second floor.
Soon after, as part of the Entrance Gallery Phase, a large section of the second level was removed, leaving open sight lines to the first floor. The first phase also included plans for a new North Entrance, a two-story "neighborhood" with an atrium, and a magnificent skylight above the new Devona and Philip Fagan, Jr. Family North Reading Room.
A North Plaza, located just outside the new entrance, would allow easy access from dorms, academic buildings, and offices on the north end of campus. A brick-paved courtyard with low limestone walls and raised plant beds would offer perfect outdoor gathering spaces for students and faculty.
The North Entrance and Gallery officially opened in August 2015.
The South Entrance Gallery would also undergo a transformation. The finished gallery featured a two-story atrium, mirroring the design of the North Entrance Gallery. New windows on the second level opened up a dramatic view of the reflecting pool, library quad, and stadium. On the first floor, library patrons now have easy access to new Circulation and Research Help desks.
The South Entrance Gallery was completed in May 2016, just in time for commencement—the Hesburgh Library was a true crossroad for campus, with complete north-south and east-west pass-throughs. Adorning the gallery walls to greet all who enter the Library are Father Hesburgh’s words: “I wanted in 1963, and still desire today, for the library to stand for the future of Notre Dame as a place of unmatched intellectual achievement, free inquiry, and providential contributions to mankind. Let the library be a place on this campus where that hunger for truth will keep getting stronger, supporting freedom and justice around the world, inspiring excellence, and prodding us to bigger dreams.”
The Women of Notre Dame endow and dedicate the new North Entrance
In the early 1960s, Father Hesburgh had a vision—well ahead of its time—of a new library that would be the academic heart of the University and serve as a symbol of excellence for the world to see. Less than a decade later, he made another bold decision to open the doors of the University to (as he would say) “Our Lady’s ladies.”
His courage and leadership transformed the landscape of Notre Dame’s campus forever. When asked about this later, he said, “I have to admit, in all modesty, that you ladies changed the face of Notre Dame—and I was glad that I could open the doors to make that happen.”
In this same spirit, the Women of Notre Dame came together for a special initiative to endow and commemorate the new North Entrance of the Hesburgh Library. They see this new entrance as a "gateway to knowledge for all" that carries Father Hesburgh’s vision forward and honors a profound legacy that opened the doors of opportunity for so many, both on Notre Dame's campus and around the world.
On October 15, 2016, over 500 alumni and friends attended the blessing and dedication of the Hesburgh Library North Entrance. A special mosaic of Father Hesburgh comprised of donor images and a dedication panel were installed in the North Entrance in recognition of this effort and the special relationship between Fr. Hesburgh and the women of Notre Dame.
Thanks to the Women's Initiative Steering Committee led by Anne Thompson (’79) and Cindy Parseghian (’77), and over 1,400 individual donors, the Hesburgh Library will remain a centerpiece of intellectual inquiry and academic excellence at Notre Dame for generations to come.
