The cornerstone of the new building was laid on March 17, 1922. The architect was Ralph Adams Cram, of the firm Cram & Ferguson, arguably America’s best Gothic architect, as well as a writer, and art critic for the Boston Transcript. Cram’s most famous works include several buildings at Princeton University, including the chapel, and more than one hundred churches and chapels across the country. Beebe Library was a departure from his usual Gothic work, having been built in a Classical Revival style instead.