Bulletin of Remarkable Trees Vol. 2 No. 14
The Sterling Morton Library and May T. Watts Reading Garden
Last week I had the privilege of spending time at the Sterling Morton Library at the Morton Arboretum - I’d love to introduce more people to all of the amazing things the library has to offer through writing about this incredible arboretum asset!
Before residing in its current location, the library at the arboretum was housed in Thornhill. The Sterling Morton Library, adjacent to the Administration Building, was completed in 1963. Designed by Harry Weese, it featured an oval shape, large wooden bookcases, and a cozy, home-like vibe accented by a large fireplace and comfy furniture. This issue of the Arboretum Quarterly goes into some detail about the consolidation of the various books and materials owned by the arboretum into one central library space. Over the years, the aesthetic became somewhat more academic, with more traditional library tables and chairs, but I think it still maintains the original deeply intimate feeling.
If you visit the library today, you won’t see the rare book display cases shown in the last photo. I learned from library staff that the cases were removed because the limestone walls they were installed against were conducive to leaks and caused water damage (not an ideal situation for old, rare books!)
Beyond the library’s striking indoor space, the adjacent May T Watts Reading Garden is a somewhat hidden treasure within the arboretum. While the garden as a whole is lush, inviting, and calming, the showpieces, in my opinion, are two espaliers climbing up the library’s limestone walls - one, a Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and the other a Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
The branches of both trees seem to reach around and hug the stone building, enrobing it in leaves. The structure of them and their entwining with the library walls seem a literal interpretation of “landscape architecture.”
I showed these photos to my dad, who was amazed to see how much they had grown over the years since he’d last seen them. He remembered when they were first planted there, only a few feet tall. Now, at least as tall as the building they climb up against, they are expansive and commanding.
The library houses a wealth of books related to horticulture, gardening, and botany. In addition, the collections contain many rare and unusual tomes, many of which have interesting provenance:
Mr and Mrs Cudahy were out Friday afternoon to bring us a collection of rare old horticultural books which Robert Allerton had presented to her for the Arboretum library. — July 8, 1946 letter from E. Lowell Kammerer to his brother and mother
Yesterday at this time Walter and I were eating lunch at the Howard Johnson Restaurant in Des Plaines. We drove up to Highland Park early in the morning to pick up some horticultural books presented to the library by the granddaughter of W.C. Egan, a pioneer horticulturalist in the Chicago area. The North Shore arboreta are lovely at this time of year. — May 20, 1954 letter from E. Lowell Kammerer to his brother
I was also able to peek at a periodical index that my grandfather had created - compiling reference cards for the thousands of publications the arboretum received.
This project may seem archaic now, but at the time, this would have been incredibly useful for finding references amongst the countless periodicals and articles the arboretum acquired. And, from a historical and research perspective, it’s an amazing archive of what the arboretum staff was interested in and felt was important enough to add to their collection in the mid-20th century.
If you haven’t had the chance to see the Sterling Morton Library, I cannot recommend enough that you pay a visit. Since you’re subscribed to this newsletter, I feel safe in assuming you have some particular interest in the Morton Arboretum as a whole or the niche of its history and the history of the Western Chicago suburbs. There is a wealth of incredible information on those topics, and so many more, at your fingertips through this irreplaceable institution. And even if you’re not working on a research project or seeking gardening info, you never know what serendipitous finds await if you pop in and look around!
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Would be an interesting thread on the selection and work by Harry Weese