Jefferson Hall (West Point)

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Jefferson Hall (2008) at West Point

Jefferson Hall-USMA Library and Learning Center is the university library and education center of the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point , New York .

Naming

Jefferson Hall is named after the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson , who signed the Military Peacetime Establishment Act in 1802 , thus establishing the United States Military Academy.

Building development

Jefferson Hall is the first new building since 1972 on the Hudson Valley campus of the military academy, which was made necessary by the high and steadily increasing number of cadets and the social framework of the 21st century.

From 2005 to 2008, the building was mainly designed by the renowned New York (interior) architecture firms STV Architects and Holzman Moss Architecture on behalf of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District from 2000 for a total of 75 million dollars built.

The six-story building made of glass and granite is in the military -neo-Gothic architectural style of the 19th century and measures 141,000 square feet . Approximately 1,586 tons of the deep rock from Fletcher Granite Co. were processed. The windows were clad with sandstone . The main entrance consists of a three-dimensional arch construction. Several carvings, including the seals , can be found at the entrances. In addition, two towers (east and west) were integrated into the building structure.

Inside the building was u. a. an interactive education center, group work areas, individual workstations, classrooms and more than 900 user areas installed. All rooms were equipped with the most modern media.

Jefferson Hall was inaugurated on September 24, 2008.

Building function

Organizational areas

The building integrates the following three areas:

  • Cadet Library
  • Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE)
  • Center for Enhanced Performance (CEP)

Library and holdings

The library has its roots in the founding year of the Military Academy 1802. It is divided into six organizational areas. A total of 12 rooms are available for cadets and staff. The inventory amounts to approximately 1 million items, including books, journals, government documents, maps and atlases, newspapers, etc. It is distributed between Jefferson Hall and the former USMA Library Bartlett Hall North building (special collection and archive ). The library catalog also lists the smaller holdings of the Simon Center for Professional Military Ethic and Combating Terrorism Center, as well as the departments of English and Philosophy , Geography and Environmental Engineering , History , Law , Mathematics and Physics . Since 1989 there has been a library annex with the Pershing Center , which is also where the Visitors Center is located. The oldest written writing is the philosophical work De civitate Dei by Augustine of Hippo from the 5th century.

Rooms and interior design

Alexander Haig Room

In tribute to General Alexander Haig , former NATO Commander in Chief , Chief of Staff and Foreign Minister , the Alexander Haig Room on the top floor of the building was inaugurated in October 2008 with the participation of the academy management . This covers an area of ​​50 × 65 feet . The Jefferson portrait by Thomas Sully (1821) occupies a central place . Additional portraits of President James Monroe and Joseph Gardner Swift , West Point's first graduate, are also attached.

Monticello Cabinet

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation from Monticello , Virginia contributed several replicas from the Jefferson property, some of which were of historical importance to the interior design. These are exhibited on the 2nd floor of the building in the Monticello Cabinet . These include a. Office chair and table, side table, long chair, tabletop, script stand and riding boots .

gallery

  • Jefferson portrait in the Alexander Haig Room

  • Guest group at Jefferson Hall

  • General Patton statue in front of Jefferson Hall

Awards

  • Award of Merit, Higher Education (2008) from the New York Construction Best of 2008 Awards
  • Engineering Excellence Awards, Diamond Award (2009) from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York
  • First Place Institutional (2009) of the Coverings ™ 2009 Prism Awards
  • Bronze SPiRiT Award from the United Services Automobile Association

literature

  • Aloysius A. Norton: History of the United States Military Academy Library. Avery Publishing, New York 1986, ISBN 978-1-904546-54-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c STV Architects (2013): Thomas Jefferson Hall Library and Learning Center ( Memento of May 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ).
  2. ^ Holzman Moss Architecture LLP. (2008): West Point builds a commanding new library and learning center for the information age ( Memento from April 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  3. ↑ Wayne A. Wiegand, Donald G. Davis (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Library History (= Garland Reference Library of Social Science , Volume 503). Garland Publishing, New York a. a. 1994, ISBN 0-8240-5787-2 , p. 246.
  4. ^ History , USMA, accessed May 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ J. Phoenix: Haig Room Dedicated ( Memento of May 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), in: Assembly, January / February 2009.
  6. ^ New library at West Point features Jefferson , in: Monticello, 19 (2008) 2.

Coordinates: 41 ° 23 ′ 29.4 "  N , 73 ° 57 ′ 20.7"  W.