The Newberry and its 13 project partners are leading a year-long initiative to heighten the 1919 Chicago race riots in the city’s collective memory, engaging Chicagoans in public conversations about the legacy of the most violent week in Chicago history.

To the observer below, it may look like parts of the Newberry façade were given up on mid-construction. In fact, these “broken arches” were intentional, and they now serve as a vestige of a fascinating dispute over library design at the Newberry’s founding.

Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Melville’s birth, Melville: Finding America at Sea traces the arc of the author’s life and afterlife, from the marginal place in American letters he occupied during his lifetime to his current position at the center of the American literary canon.

December 31, 2018 marked the successful conclusion of the Newberry’s First and Foremost comprehensive campaign, a two-year fundraising initiative to support the library’s vision for expanding access to its world-class collection and promoting learning in the humanities.