herr2ck: Monolithic Brick

September 2025.

18th Avenue Library, 209 West 18th Avenue, and Mathematics Tower are the only buildings in central Ohio designed by famous Modern and Postmodern architect Philip Johnson. Romanesque Revival is my favorite style of architecture, but I think Johnson’s references to it fall a little flat, and the complex ends up looking like brick boxes with minimal three-dimensionality and goofy fenestration. The ornament, texture, and materiality that defines the style is almost completely lost. I’ll get to bashing the architecture more later, though.

18th Avenue Library History

18th Avenue Library is bordered by Smith and Scott Lab to the north, 17th Avenue and the green space where Brown Hall used to sit to the south, the green space where Lord Hall used to be to the east, and 209 West 18th Avenue to the west. It was designed in 1990 by Philip Johnson in the Postmodern style. Brown Hall’s annex was demolished for the construction of the complex.

The Science and Engineering Library during construction in 1991. (Buckeye Stroll)

18th Avenue Library was built as the Science and Engineering Library, which was meant to consolidate seven smaller libraries, including engineering, physics, and astronomy. Construction began in August 1991 and the library opened on January 3, 1993. Johnson’s design was described as “recalling the Edwardian brick structures of Arthur Beresford Pite erected in England during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The design employs the dominant motif of that period—the Roman Arch. The superimposed interplay of Roman arches using varying layers of brick provides a rich textural appearance to the facade of the buildings.” The last sentence is a bit of a stretch, Mr. Glass House, but whatever you say.

In 2011, the Music and Dance collection was moved to the Science and Engineering Library, which prompted its renaming to the 18th Avenue Library in March 2013.

Interior of 18th Avenue Library, undated. (Buckeye Stroll)

18th Avenue Library Photos

The east facade of 18th Avenue Library is constantly obscured by trees, so this shot was the best I could do:

Entrance peeking through two trees:

These vaults remind me of the ones on Roman ruins when the marble and concrete wears away.

Note the huge blind arch punctured by various piers here:

The colonnaded passageway made by the various arches:

Main entrance:

Southeast corner:

South facade:

Arch detail on the lower floors--note how it is also interrupted by a pier through the middle:

Smaller arched windows above:

Southwest corner:

The west facade has a massive double blind arch, reminiscent of window designs on other Romanesque buildings on campus:

Vaulted north entrance to the library:

The interior has obviously been renovated since construction. I’m not sure if the concrete columns were ever meant to be exposed, but the drop ceiling tiles and indirect lights are clearly recent additions.

North entrance vestibule and brick walls:

Terra-Byte Cafe:

The basement is mostly study space with compact shelving:

Dance library shelves:

209 West 18th Avenue History

Still unnamed by the university, 209 W 18th was designed by Johnson in the same style and built concurrently with the others. With a smaller stature and more intricate brickwork, I think this building is the most architecturally successful of the three. It serves as a classroom building, solely housing lecture halls. It was previously known as the “East Annex.”

209 W 18th is bordered by Scott Lab to the north, Brown Hall’s empty space to the south, 18th Avenue Library to the east, and Math Tower to the west.

209 West 18th Avenue Photos

Let’s start with the northeast corner. I can’t get over how good all these photos came out.

East facade (yes, I know there’s too much foreground and I chopped off the roof of Math Tower):

These windows have much more depth and are vastly superior to the tiny ones on 18th Avenue.

Corner medallion, which is a feature I see on classical buildings sometimes:

Nicely lit southeast corner:

Here’s how it compares to its neighbor:

The south facade is only four bays wide. The east side has the building’s hallway, but this side faces the lecture halls, hence the blind arches:

Entrance--note the oddly flat pediment above:

Detail of the blind arches--kind of pareidolic:

Recessed arched window:

The extent of the interior is these two hallways. First floor:

Second floor:

Mathematics Tower History

At eight stories high, Johnson was able to play with the scale of the Mathematics Tower, adding the massive window to the south facade. I think it falls into the blandness trap of poorly-done Modernism and Postmodernism, even though the design references historic precedents. Ever since it was finished in 1993, it has served as office space for faculty and grad students in the Mathematics Department.

Math Tower is bordered by Scott Lab to the north, Dulles Hall to the south, 209 W 18th to the east, and it is attached to the Mathematics Building to the west.