History of the Dewitt Wallace Periodical Room

Who was Dewitt Wallace?

The DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room is named for the founder of Reader's Digest Magazine. In the 1920's DeWitt Wallace spent countless hours in the Periodical Room, reading and condensing articles from the Library's collection. In 1983, the room's restoration was made possible by a generous gift from the Wallace Fund, established by DeWitt Wallace.

Murals

The importance of periodicals in the history and daily cultural and social life of New York is acknowledged in the wall murals that depict significant publishers of periodicals, newspapers and books, at the turn of the century. This generous gift to the Library also made the painting of thirteen murals possible. These paintings by the contemporary New York artist Richard Haas depict buildings associated with Periodical publishing in New York City.

Listen to a conversation about the murals with the artist Richard Haas.