Regenstein Library

This seven-story limestone structure houses over 4.5 million volumes focused on humanities and social sciences, distributed across expansive reading rooms, group work areas and individual study carrels overlooking the campus.

Opened in 1970 to replace earlier collections, this building rose on the site of old Stagg Field, where Enrico Fermi and his team conducted the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in 1942, launching the atomic age.

This facility serves as the central research hub for University of Chicago scholars, hosting thousands of students and researchers daily who work on complex academic projects across disciplines.

Located at 1100 East 57th Street, this facility extends hours to 4 AM during examination periods and provides public access to certain areas beyond university holdings after registering at the main desk.

An automated underground storage system retrieves rarely used works, while exterior walls display vertical lines resembling book spines on a shelf, serving as architectural reference to the building's function.

Location: Chicago

Inception: 1970

Floors above the ground: 5

Floors below the ground: 2

GPS coordinates: 41.79220,-87.59980

Latest update: December 1, 2025 09:12