With a length of 152 metres, a depth of 78 metres and a height of 24 metres, Germany's largest blank brick building was regarded as the best German library building at the time. Up to 1944, also the Allgemeines Reichsarchiv (general Reich archive) was accommodated here.

100 years after its inauguration, 85 percent of the building was destroyed by a number of air raids in the Second World War. The reconstruction spanned several phases and took until 1970.

Within the framework of a cabinet presentation in the hallway in front of the Reading Room for Music, Maps and Images, the Image Archive presents numerous reproductions of photographs from its collection that illustrate this eventful history of construction.