The Browning Room was opened in 1880 in College Hall, the original college building, which was destroyed by fire in 1914. The room was decorated to honor the late poet, and included a complete collection of editions of the works of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, donated by George Herbert Palmer in 1911. That collection of books, as well as many other items in the room, were saved from destruction during the 1914 fire. The bust of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, seen to the left, was rescued; the statue of the reading girl, at the right, was destroyed.