University of Miami’s Richter Library celebrates its 50th
Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy, still smarting from the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion that aimed to overthrow the Castro administration, had just about 13 months left to live. Superstars Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Dionne Warwick all began their recording careers. And a major library was born on the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami.
Over the years, the school’s Otto G. Richter Library, built for $3 million, has grown into one of Florida’s largest repositories for some of the region’s most significant collections of memorabilia and history. The Pan Am airline collection soars here. The departed Orange Bowl is documenting every step of the way. The Charles Deering and Marjory Stoneman Douglas collections afford visitors and researchers a tantalizing look into South Florida’s history.
Additionally, the Cuban Heritage Collection on the library’s second floor gathers more than 50,000 books, periodicals, photographs and newspapers from colonial times to the present.
Friday evening (Oct. 26), the 50th anniversary of the 1962 dedication was celebrated at an invitation-only event before more than 150 UM dignitaries, donors and alumni.
