Designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1963, the Beinecke is a cathedral for the written word. This windowless monolith is suspended on four massive steel piers, floating above a sunken granite court. The exterior is a grid of Vermont Montclair Danby marble "panes" framed in light gray granite.

What makes this a photographer’s dream is the marble itself—cut to a thickness of only 1.25 inches, the stone is semi-translucent. During the day, the exterior looks like a solid, formidable fortress of geometry; inside, the marble filters the sunlight into a warm, amber glow that protects the ancient volumes within. The centerpiece is a six-story glass tower of books, a literal "spine" of history that creates an incredible sense of scale and depth for interior shots.