Billings Memorial Library

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Billings Library
BillingsLibraryUVM.jpg
Billings Library, University of Vermont
Billings Memorial Library
General information
Address48 University Place
Town or city Burlington, Vermont
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 44°28′46″N73°11′57″W / 44.479315°N 73.199099°W / 44.479315; -73.199099 Coordinates: 44°28′46″N73°11′57″W / 44.479315°N 73.199099°W / 44.479315; -73.199099
Completed1883
Owner University of Vermont
Design and construction
Architect(s) Henry Hobson Richardson

The Billings Memorial Library is located on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington. Built in 1883, it was designed by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson [1] to resemble the Winn Library in Woburn, Massachusetts, United States.

Contents

History

The library was given to the University of Vermont by Frederick H. Billings, of Woodstock. It has been a central part of campus life since opening in 1885, [1] and despite the University's growth over the intervening century, the fact that it has remained so close to its original appearance is a testament to the strength and power of its architecture. [1]

A new library, the Guy W. Bailey Library (now known as the Howe Library), was built for the University of Vermont in 1961 due to lack of space at Billings Library. [1] [2] The Billings Library was then converted to a student center in 1963. [3] After the building was determined to have been outgrown for student center purposes, the Dudley H. Davis Center was built and completed in 2007 to be the university's new student center. [4]

Thanks to an $11.4 million renovation completed in the summer of 2018, UVM's most architecturally important building once again houses academic departments, including Special Collections, the Miller Center for Holocaust Studies, the Humanities Center, and the Center for Research on Vermont. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Provost, David (December 2, 1999). "A Gem of Architecture: The History of The Billings Library". UVM. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. "Billings Student Center – History". uvm.edu. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. "Billings Library, University of Vermont by H. H. Richardson". bluffton.edu. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. "Student Center History". The University of Vermont. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  5. "Billings Library: Past and Present" . Retrieved 11 November 2018.