Architecture Media Library

Do you have old architecture and design magazines in your attic, basement, office, storage unit, or library?  Details. We pay for shipping! 

We also archive abandoned architecture websites and podcasts.

Welcome to the USModernist® Library, the world's largest open digital collection of major US architecture magazines with over 5 million downloadable pages representing over 25,000 issues. At 5 million pages, stacking them would reach a height of 1640 feet. If you put the pages end to end, it would reach 3300 miles, or the distance from New York to the UK.  Access to legacy publications has never been more critical for preservation, and now architects, realtors, owners, sellers, and buyers have an easy way to research 20th-century architecture magazine coverage.   All across America, old architecture magazines are left rotting in attics, basements, libraries, and offices - if they haven't already been thrown away. We scan US architecture magazines and make them freely available to the public - in text- searchable, printable, and downloadable pdfs.

Major donors include: Tod Williams Billie Tsien, Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo, Pei Cobb Freed, Pei Partners, Madhu Beriwal, Smithsonian Institution, UNC-Greensboro, Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture, University of Hawai'i Manoa, Atomic Ranch, AIA National, Savannah College of Art and Design, Palm Springs Museum of Art, Cranbrook, Baltimore Museum of Art, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Robert Keil, Julie Taylor, Michael Raso, and IIT Architecture.

The US Modernist Library provides an invaluable service for the teaching and student communities, allowing ease of access to a wealth of materials on contemporary architecture that should aid all scholars of the built environment.  Its comprehensive catalog of publications rivals or exceeds that of most universities, and including ACSA publications will help to deepen its fundamental holdings.  --Robert Ivy FAIA, Design Advocate/Architect/Educator

The Neutra Institute for Survival through Design applauds this important effort to use digital means to retain images and thoughts of our architectural past for multiple audiences.  --Raymond Richard Neutra MD, President, Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design

The US Modernist Archive is the most comprehensive source for published articles about Modernist architecture in the US. I think of it as the Library of Congress for modern architecture.  Why not free up your shelf space to make periodicals available to a worldwide audience?  --Frank Harmon FAIA, Author, Native Places

The USModernist Library’s digital collection is and will continue to be one of the most valuable contributions to the architectural profession and scholarship. It puts our vast architectural heritage at the fingertips of students, architects, and the public as never before. --Alan Hess, Architect and Author

Without doubt, the greatest boon to research in Architecture, Urbanism, Interiors, and Construction, since the advent of search engines, is the USModernist Library.  Architectural journals, even more than books, embody the living development of the architectural world, conveying the adventure of how our built environments evolved. Moreover, the USModernist Library solves the access problems of geography, travel time, building opening time, and the increasing barriers to institutional resources.
-- Seth Joseph Weine, Fellow, The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art

 USModernist Library is an indispensable tool for me with source material on projects from all eras and geographies. The easily searchable, digital archive is a one stop-shop for research into interconnected themes across works that might otherwise disintegrate from the frustration of navigating confusing library search systems. Further, while those are valuable for our students, the USModernist Library is accessible to anyone on the internet. I am personally grateful to them for the resource, but also inspired as a fellow traveler seeking to open the books, so to say, to a broad audience compelling anyone who’s interested to dive in. --Stewart Hicks, Assistant Professor, Architecture, University of Illinois Chicago

 The USModernist Library is an extraordinary resource that not only preserves our architectural heritage but also makes it freely accessible to the public. Donating periodicals helps institutions reclaim valuable library space while ensuring these vital materials live on in a searchable, digital archive that will benefit students, faculty, and the wider design community for generations. --Steve Glenn, Founder/CEO, Plant Prefab

As a marketing professional at a small architecture firm, I rely on the USModernist Library regularly for archival research that supports our current projects, conference presentations, and editorial content. It’s an indispensable resource—well organized, easily searchable, and rich with material that would be nearly impossible to find elsewhere. The USModernist Library is a vital resource that preserves architectural history—making it accessible, searchable, and useful to the entire design community.  – Halsey Smith, Flavin Architects

US National/Regional Magazines

Podcasts

Websites