MacLaurin Hall (1910)

Figure 15. Courtesy of the University of Sydney Archives, 1910 [G3_224_MF374_0191]. Fisher Library, western and southern facades - now Maclaurin Hall. Photograph, https://www.sydney.edu.au/arms/archives/media/me_objects/697.[1]

This next stop invites you to admire MacLaurin Hall, with this photograph taken in 1910 (Fig. 15). This building was the original Fisher Library reading room and forms part of the Quadrangle.[2] It took 8 years to build and was officially opened in 1909.[3] At the time, the library was of advanced design with two electric book lifts.[4]

When the building we know as Fisher Library today was completed in 1963, the old Fisher Library was remodelled and renamed MacLaurin Hall after Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin, who was the Chancellor of the University of Sydney at the time.[5] MacLaurin Hall was built in the Gothic Revival style to match the Main Building and has a grand cedar roof with intricate stonework as you can see.[6] Today the hall is used for lectures, examinations, meetings, and entertainment.[7] Continue up Manning Road to reach the final stop on this tour.

     [1] “University Archives Mediabank.”

     [2] “History of the Library: Our story,” The University of Sydney, accessed June 2, 2021, https://library.sydney.edu.au/about/uslhistory/index.html.

     [3] University of Sydney, “History of the Library: Our story.”

     [4] University of Sydney, “History of the Library: Our story.”

     [5] University of Sydney, “History of the Library: Our story.”

     [6] University of Sydney, “History of the Library: Our story.”

     [7] University of Sydney, “History of the Library: Our story.”