The Rose Window"rose" stained glass window, displayed over the entrance of the present Library building, was designed by Henry Holiday for Drew's first library, the Cornell (1883)Library, and installed in 1890. Below: the Cornell Library, with the Rose Window round stained glass window on the back wall. The first photo was probably taken around the turn of the century; the second in the 1920s.
Photos courtesy of the Drew University Archives.
The Cornell Library was razed in 1937 when the Rose Memorial Library was constructed on the site; the window was removed at that time and placed in storage for over forty years. No formal records were kept of its whereabouts. As a result, the window was never installed in the Rose Library!
In 1978, when plans to add a Learning Center to the Rose Memorial Library were almost finished, the dismantled window was unexpectedly rediscovered in a crate in the attic of the Hall of Sciences. It was decided that the window should be restored to a place over the library's new entrance.
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"Rose" is the term used to describe a round cathedral or church stained glass window whose design emanates from the center, like the flower after which it is named. This rose window . "Rose" windows are usual symmetrical in design, which Drew Library's is not, but the association with Rose Library has caused the name "Rose Window" to stick. The window has a nine and a half foot diameter. A letter from Henry Holiday, dated April 20, 1888 (Drew University Archives), gives a fascinating explanation of its symbolism:
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