BEAUTIFUL DESTINATIONS

The columns stretch from floor to ceiling in the gorgeous neoclassical masterpiece that is the Labrouste Reading Room. Inspired by Parisian markets and railway stations, Pierre-François-Henri Labrouste used these 16 iron columns to prop up the intricate terra cotta domes — his original pneumatic tube system was implemented decades before other institutions utilized the technology. He also installed heating under the floor because he tended towards a chillier body temperature. The reading room reopened last year after seven years of renovation. (