Hubbardston Public Library

Last updated
Hubbardston Public Library
Hubbardston Library.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Hubbardston, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°28′30″N72°0′28″W / 42.47500°N 72.00778°W / 42.47500; -72.00778 Coordinates: 42°28′30″N72°0′28″W / 42.47500°N 72.00778°W / 42.47500; -72.00778
Arealess than one acre
Built1874
Architect E. Boyden & Son
Architectural styleItalianate
NRHP reference No. 98000989 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 19, 1998

The Hubbardston Public Library is the public library of Hubbardston, Massachusetts. The library, located at 7 Main Street, serves the town by providing a wide variety of materials, services, and events. It offers Internet access and access to the CWMARS resource-sharing catalog.

Contents

The library is housed in one of Hubbardston's most architecturally significant buildings, an 1874 Second Empire/Italianate brick building that also houses the town offices. Construction of the building, and a significant portion of the library's early collection, were made possible through grants and gifts from Hubbardston native Jonas G. Clark, founder of Worcester's Clark University. [2] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. [1]

Architecture and building history

The library is located in the village center of Hubbardston, on the west side of Main Street (Massachusetts Route 68), north of its junction with Brigham and Elm Streets. It is the most distinctive and architecturally elaborate building in the village, two stories in height, built out of red brick, with granite and white wooden trim, and a slate roof. The center bay of the front facade projects, and is capped by a steeply pitched multicolor slate roof; this was originally crowned with iron cresting, which has been removed. Ground-floor windows are set in rounded openings with stepped granite headers, while second-floor windows are set in segmented-arch openings with bracketed lintels. The central bay has the main entrance recessed in a round-arch opening, with paired round-arch openings on the second level. A gable projects below the main tower roof, above a stone panel in which the name of the building's donor and year of construction are carved. [3]

Prior to the construction of this building, the town of Hubbardston had no buildings in public ownership; its town meetings were held in the local church. It was the town's only public building until the 1980s, when the police station was built. It was designed by Worcester architect Elbridge Boyden for the donor, Jonas G. Clark, and was built on what had been three house lots, acquired by Clark for the purpose. Clark was probably responsible for bringing in the materials, and the craftsmen that constructed the building, from outside the community, whose other masonry buildings of the period were much simpler. [3]

Since its construction, the building has housed the town's library, town offices, and a community meeting space.

See also

Related Research Articles

Abbott Street School United States historic place

The Abbott Street School is a historic school building at 36 Abbott Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in 1894, it is a good local example of Romanesque Revival architecture. It served as a public school until 1981, after which it was converted to residential use. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Bowers School (Clinton, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Bowers School is an historic school building on 411 Water Street in Clinton, Massachusetts. The two story brick schoolhouse was built in 1892 to a design by Joshua Thissell. The building was dedicated in honor of Rev. Charles Manning Bowers, a longtime member of the Clinton School Committee. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The building now houses residences.

South Congregational Church (Springfield, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The South Congregational Church is a historic church at 45 Maple Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. The 1875 High Victorian Gothic building was designed by William Appleton Potter for a congregation that was established in 1842, and is still active today. The building is also noted for some prominent donors who funded its construction, notably Daniel B. Wesson, Charles and George Merriam, and Daniel Harris, who owned and capitalized on the Howe truss patent for bridge design.

Levi Heywood Memorial Library Building United States historic place

The Levi Heywood Memorial Library Building is an historic library building at 28 Pearl Street in Gardner, Massachusetts. Completed in 1886, it is one of the city's most architecturally distinguished buildings, and a good example of Richardsonian Romanesque design. It was given in honor of Levi Heywood, a prominent figure in the city's economically important chair manufacturing industry. It was used as a library until 1978, and now houses a museum dedicated to the city's history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and included in the Gardner Uptown Historic District in 1999.

Warren Public Library (Warren, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Warren Public Library is the public library of Warren, Massachusetts, It is located at 934 Main Street, in a Richardsonial Romanesque building designed by Amos P. Cutting and built in 1889. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Methuen Water Works United States historic place

The Methuen Water Works is a historic water works building on Cross Street in Methuen, Massachusetts. Built in 1893 or soon thereafter, it was one of the city's first major public works project. The surviving building, designed by Ernest N. Boyden, is a distinctive local example of Romanesque architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It now houses offices of the city's water department.

Reading Public Library (Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Reading Public Library is located in Reading, Massachusetts. Previously known as the Highland School, the two-story brick-and-concrete Renaissance Revival building was designed by architect Horace G. Wadlin and built in 1896–97. The building served the town's public school needs until 1981. It is the town's most architecturally distinguished school building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the year it was converted for use as the library.

St. Peters Catholic Church (Worcester, Massachusetts) United States historic place

St. Peter's Catholic Church is a historic church building at 935 Main Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in 1884, the church is one of the city's finest and most ornate examples of Gothic Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is home to an active parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester.

Willard Richmond Apartment Block United States historic place

The Willard Richmond Apartment Block is an historic apartment house at 43 Austin Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built sometime between 1879 and 1886, it is one of the first apartment blocks built in the Main-Wellington-Chandler area, which had one of the city's highest concentrations of such buildings by 1900. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Babcock Block United States historic place

The Babcock Block is a historic commercial building at 596 Main Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in the 1860s, it is a rare example of granite construction in the period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Downing Street School United States historic place

The former Downing Street School, now the Traina Center for the Arts of Clark University, is a historic school building at 92 Downing Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in 1891 to a design by Boston-based architect William Forbush, it is a high-quality local example of Romanesque Revival architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Jerome Marble House United States historic place

The Jerome Marble House is an historic house at 23 Harvard Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in 1867 to a design by Elbridge Boyden, it is one of the city's fine examples of Second Empire architecture, and one of the few for which an architect is known. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It now houses professional offices.

Otis Putnam House United States historic place

The Otis Putnam House is a historic house at 25 Harvard Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built in 1887 to a design by Fuller & Delano for a prominent local department store owner, it is a fine local example of Queen Anne architecture executed in brick. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It now houses offices.

H.M. Warren School United States historic place

The H. M. Warren School is a historic school building at 30 Converse Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Built c. 1895–1897, it is locally significant as a fine example of Renaissance Revival architecture, and for its role in the town's educational system. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It now houses social service agencies.

Goffstown Public Library United States historic place

The Goffstown Public Library is located at 2 High Street in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The building it occupies was designed by architects Henry M. Francis & Sons and was built in 1909. It is small Classical Revival building built of brick with stone trim, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It is one of the finest examples of Classical Revival architecture in the town, with a three-bay main facade whose central entrance projects slightly, and is topped by a pediment supported by Ionic columns.

Stephen C. Earle

Stephen Carpenter Earle was an architect who designed a number of buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were built in the late 19th century, with many in Worcester, Massachusetts. He trained in the office of Calvert Vaux in New York City. He worked for a time in partnership with James E. Fuller, under the firm "Earle & Fuller". In 1891, he formed a partnership with Vermont architect Clellan W. Fisher under the name "Earle & Fisher".

Beaman Memorial Public Library United States historic place

The Beaman Memorial Public Library is the public library of West Boylston, Massachusetts. It is located near the town common, at 8 Newton Street, in an architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival building constructed in 1912 to a design by Worcester architect Lucius Briggs. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Conant Public Library United States historic place

The Conant Public Library is the public library of Winchester, New Hampshire. It is located at 111 Main Street, in a fine Victorian Romanesque Revival building erected in 1891, funded by a bequest from Winchester resident Ezra Conant. The building's design, by Springfield, Massachusetts architect, J. M. Currier, is based on his design of the 1886 library building in Brattleboro, Vermont, and is one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings in Cheshire County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Wilton Town Hall United States historic place

Wilton Town Hall is located at 42 Main Street in downtown Wilton, New Hampshire. Built in 1886, the red brick building is a prominent local example of civic Queen Anne style architecture. In a common style of the day, it includes a theater space which was used for dramatic presentations, silent films, and vaudeville productions, before being converted to its present use as a movie theater. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Lawrence Library United States historic place

The Lawrence Library is the public library of Fairfield, Maine. It is located at 33 Lawrence Avenue, in an architecturally distinguished Romanesque Revival building designed by William R. Miller and completed in 1901. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "MACRIS inventory record for Hubbardston Public Library". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  3. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Hubbardston Public Library". National Archive. Retrieved 2017-10-07.