Sterling castle 

Bob Handelman

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Bob Handelman

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Heard tell of the castle atop Sterling Memorial Library? The 2,380-square-foot structure on Sterling’s roof, which does resemble a medieval castle (note the towers and parapets), appeared in much simpler form in the original 1926 plans for Sterling drawn by architect James Gamble Rogers ’89, but it appears to have been expanded, embellished, and labeled as a “pent house” in 1930 drawings, according to Clarrie Scholtz, project archivist with the university archives. Even before the unusual ornate exterior was added, the structure was intended to house the building’s mechanicals. “This is going to burst everybody’s bubble,” says John Clegg, director of library facilities and building operations. “It’s a mechanical penthouse, that’s all.” So why the elaborate exterior? That the drawings don’t tell.