Metcalfe Hall

Metcalfe Hall is defined by its massive portico, featuring thirty-four Corinthian columns that hold up a heavy, pedimented roof. Built in eighteen forty-four to honor Lord Metcalfe for his support of a free press, the building mimics the Temple of the Winds in Athens. For years, it housed the city’s most important public library. Lord Curzon once stood on these steps, lamenting that the weight of the massive collection might eventually cause the entire structure to collapse into the foundation.