The Gothic Reading Room in 1930 The Gothic Reading Room in 2023
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Then and Now

Gothic Reading Room

Located on the second floor of the Rubenstein Library, the Gothic Reading Room’s high ceiling allows space for arched windows, bookshelves, chandeliers and portraits of prominent Duke figures, including Washington Duke, James Buchanan Duke, and Benjamin Newton Duke. And as they do today, students in the 1930s turned to the Gothic Reading Room for a place to quietly study.