The Bronze Doors

"These bronze doors were designed in 1929 by Douglas V. Freret of Favrot and Livaudais, Architects, for the main entrance to the Hutchinson Memorial Building on Tulane Avenue. They were installed in 1930 during the tenure of Dean C.C. Bass and dismantled in 1963 when the entrance was relocated to the new Burthe Cottam Building addition."

The doors were in storage for almost twenty years when they were resurrected and mounted in the library on either side of the old card catalog in honor and memory of Dean Bass in 1981. The library has a set of the blue prints for the first three floors of the Hutchinson Memorial Building which includes drawings of the bronze doors as well as the plans for the library itself.

These doors are still a centerpiece of the Matas Library and will be retained during the renovation planned in 2008.