Tempe Historic Property Survey

A two-story concrete frame building with brick exterior, Matthews Library is rectangular with an offset portico entry supported by four Ionic columns. The main façade faces west. Discrete windows have 24-light, two-leaf steel casements, while doorways have ten-light French doors. Wall surfaces are plain except for a concrete cornice. The interior has been remodeled extensively, especially in 1951, and following the removal of the library collections to a new building in 1967.

Although it has been an important campus building for over 50 years, the Matthews Library has lost a significant amount of its original integrity. Its Classical Revival portico is incompatible with the dominant architectural trends in 1930 and therefore the building did not affect other campus design.

Go to Tempe Historic Property Survey