The Armstrong Browning Library, located on a tree-lined street with landscaped lawns in an "older" part of the Baylor University campus in Waco, Texas, is not only a much-loved building on campus and one of the most beautiful library settings, but also it is considered to be a "local treasure" by the general community, and has become a much-visited site for out-of-town travelers for over 70-years, since 1950. I first visited the Library as a child and was thoroughly enchanted. I have re-visited numerous times over the years, not only to view recent acquisitions of Browning memorabilia on display, but also to attend late afternoon or evening concerts and recitals performed by faculty and students in Baylor's Music Department, and also by members of the Waco Symphony Orchestra. It has always been my favourite place on the Baylor campus.
The Library is well-known for the Browning Collection which it houses -- the world's largest collection of memorabilia, including original manuscripts and personal items, which belonged to British poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There are over 60 intricate stained glass windows throughout the building depicting themes from the poetry of the Brownings.
In addition to the Browning Collection, the Library is research center focusing on the 19th Century, with significant holdings regarding literature and culture in Britain and in America from 1800 to 1900, including over 600 literary manuscripts, over 11,000 original letters and over 1,500 musical scores, plus books, periodicals, "objects d’art", fine art, and also rare Wedgwood bone china.
THE ARMSTRONGS: A 40-year Dream Which Became a Reality
Dr. Andrew Joseph (A.J.) Armstrong (1873-1954) and his wife, Mary Maxwell Armstrong (1882-1971) shared an impressive dream and turned it into a reality by amassing the world's largest collection of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning letters, manuscripts, likenesses, and mementos at Baylor University.
Dr. Armstrong became interested in the poet Robert Browning and in 1905 began to collect books and articles about Browning. Mary Maxwell Armstrong’s intelligence, insight, and perseverance made her an influential figure in twentieth-century Waco. Her determination combined with her love for great literature aided in the establishment of a world-renowned library on the campus of Baylor University.
Together the Armstrongs accomplished this goal by organizing and conducting educational tours to Europe and around the world and by hosting celebrities at Baylor and in their own home, always placing the profits from these projects into a "special account." The account, as well as the Browning Collection, grew through their diligent and passionate efforts. Eventually, enough funds were gathered from, or pledged by, generous donors for the construction of a building solely dedicated to housing the Browning Collection.
BACKSTORY: The Beginning of a Lifelong Commitment to Preserve the Legacy of the Brownings
A.J. Armstrong’s love for the Brownings began in September of 1904 at Illinois Wesleyan University where he was hired to teach a course on Robert Browning’s works. Until that time, Armstrong had never before studied the poet, but not one to give any task less than his best, according to one source, he studied Browning’s writings every day from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m., breaking only for an hour to eat dinner. He later wrote that he “was ripe for the reception of [Browning’s] philosophy, to appreciate his beauty.” By 1905, Armstrong had begun his own small “Browning library.”
In 1908, Dr. Armstrong was recruited by the then-President of Baylor University, to fill a one-year interim position as Chair of Baylor’s English department. At the end of his first year at Baylor in 1909, Armstrong took a three-month trip around Europe and married Mary Maxwell. It was on that fortuitous trip, while he was in Italy, that he met and became friends with Robert Barrett “Pen” Browning, the 60-year-old only son of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, an artist and sculptor, who showed him various aspects of his parents’ home and belongings.
When Pen Browning died in 1912 without leaving a Will, the Browning estate was dispersed during a 6-day sale, in order to satisfy relatives and creditors. Dr. Browning asked the London agent to keep him informed about who had purchased manuscripts and other items from the Browning Estate. Ultimately, Armstrong obtained a list of to whom the items were sold and began to acquire them via donation or purchase, hoping to preserve their works and legacy.
During that same year, 1918, Armstrong saw an opportunity after he had assumed the full-time position as Chair of Baylor’s English Department: He donated his personal collection of Browning texts and commentaries to the University. For the remainder of his life, he traveled the globe in search of all the Browning art, artifacts, letters and manuscripts that he could find and obtain for the collection.
CONSTRUCTION: The Growth of the Collection Creates the Need for New Space
In 1918, after Dr. Armstrong had donated his small
collection of Browning books to Baylor
University, he dedicated himself to raising money to fund an
ongoing search to expand that collection which was known as the "Browning Collection".
Initially, the Browning Collection was housed in the open shelves of Baylor’s main library, Carroll Library, until a fire occurred in 1922. Fortunately, the entire Browning Collection was saved, and during renovation of the Carroll Library, a special Browning Room was created and dedicated in 1924.
Initially, the Browning Collection was housed in the open shelves of Baylor’s main library, Carroll Library, until a fire occurred in 1922. Fortunately, the entire Browning Collection was saved, and during renovation of the Carroll Library, a special Browning Room was created and dedicated in 1924.
As early as 1925,
the Browning Collection was the largest in the world, and in 1943, clearly
in need of its own building, Baylor President Pat Neff initiated a $100,000
“challenge grant” to Dr. Armstrong toward construction of a separate library
building to house the collection.
On May 7, 1948, in spite of a stifling post-war economy, ground-breaking began at the corner of 8th and Speight on the Baylor campus for the building completed two years later in 1950 seen in the vintage photo below. Dr. Armstrong initially worked with the two architects who designed the Library until his health began to fail, at which time his wife Mary took over. The two architects each had separate design responsibilities and worked independently: Hedrick C. Wyatt of Fort Worth, Texas, designed the 3-story physical building in the Italian Renaissance architectural style. Otto R. Eggers of the New York City architectural firm Eggers & Higgens -- who in 1939 had taken over the construction phase of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. after the death of its original architect John Russell Pope -- created the interior spaces. The overall cost of constructing the Library in 1948 was $1.75-million -- the equivalent of approximately $20-million in 2021.
On May 7, 1948, in spite of a stifling post-war economy, ground-breaking began at the corner of 8th and Speight on the Baylor campus for the building completed two years later in 1950 seen in the vintage photo below. Dr. Armstrong initially worked with the two architects who designed the Library until his health began to fail, at which time his wife Mary took over. The two architects each had separate design responsibilities and worked independently: Hedrick C. Wyatt of Fort Worth, Texas, designed the 3-story physical building in the Italian Renaissance architectural style. Otto R. Eggers of the New York City architectural firm Eggers & Higgens -- who in 1939 had taken over the construction phase of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. after the death of its original architect John Russell Pope -- created the interior spaces. The overall cost of constructing the Library in 1948 was $1.75-million -- the equivalent of approximately $20-million in 2021.
The various interiors of the Armstrong Browning Library are, in a word, gorgeous. The ceilings are extremely high, with some being very ornate and including chandeliers. The woodwork is intricate, and the polished bookcases and curio cabinets house rare books and Browning memorabilia. To enter the building, visitors first pass through the elegantly carved double front doors, seen in the photograph here below.
In the Entry Foyer, there are sculpture busts of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning to the left and right, facing each other, as seen in the photograph below.
To the left of, and off, the Entry Foyer, through a set of doors, is the Library's Reading Room with stained glass windows providing diffused natural light from the outside. In addition to serving its obvious purpose, this room has also been used for Baylor's School of Music faculty and student recitals because of its excellent acoustics, ambiance and ample size -- especially during the tenure of Daniel Sternberg, Dean Emeritus of Baylor's School of Music whose career at Baylor spanned nearly 40-years from 1942-1980, and who, coincidentally, passed away 21-years ago this month.
The two corridors on each side of the Entry Foyer lead to a spectacular multi-purpose room regularly used for intimate late afternoon and evening chamber music concerts, choral performances, and musical recitals. This room, referred to as the Foyer of Meditation, is also a favourite location for taking bridal photos. One side of the room faces West, which -- as the sun is setting -- causes a rainbow of colours from several large stained glass windows to softly blanket the room. Evening concerts held in this room are literally "magical".
Of particular interest to visitors is the Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon, located upstairs. It is a re-creation of her room, and features her personal memorabilia in a soft light green setting. Although the public can only view the room through its doorway, I personally have always felt that it conveys a certain peaceful tranquility.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A customized Guided Tour of the Armstrong Browning Library is included among our Living History Tours of Waco© by Snobby Tours®, Inc. For more information, please visit our Website at: http://snobbytours.com/wacotours.html
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(Primary and Photo Sources : Living History Tours of Waco© by Snobby Tours®, Inc.; baylor.edu; The Handbook of Waco and McLennan County; The Texas Collection at Baylor University; Lewis, Scott, Boundless Life: A Biography of Andrew Joseph Armstrong, 2014; The Texas Historial Commission)
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