McHenry Library

The building, designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, was completed in 1968 and features a minimalist design intended to blend into its forest surroundings, with floor-to-ceiling glass set in coarse, granite-like concrete and exposed vertical columns suggestive of tree trunks.

Over the last ten years the library has undergone seismic retrofit and renovations, amounting in $100 million in improvements.

In fall of 2011 it fully reopened with a new café, increased study space, and special exhibit room exclusively for the Grateful Dead archives.

[1] The Global Village Café, which is located in the new wing of the library and offers smoothies, sandwiches, salads, and a full coffee bar.

The McHenry Library is home to the archives of the anthropologist Gregory Bateson, the rock band The Grateful Dead,[2] the science fiction author, Robert Heinlein, and the architectural photographer Morley Baer.