Kingston City Library

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Kingston City Library

Kingston City Library, NY.jpg

North elevation, 2008
Location Kingston, NY
Coordinates 41°55′34″N73°59′45″W / 41.92611°N 73.99583°W / 41.92611; -73.99583 Coordinates: 41°55′34″N73°59′45″W / 41.92611°N 73.99583°W / 41.92611; -73.99583
Built 1903 [1]
Architect Raymond Almirall [1]
Architectural style Classical Revival
NRHP reference # 95001404
Added to NRHP 1995

The former Kingston City Library building is located on Broadway in the center of Kingston, New York, United States. It is a brick Carnegie library built in 1903 in the Classical Revival architectural style.

Kingston, New York City in New York, United States

Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is 91 miles (146 km) north of New York City and 59 miles (95 km) south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area by the United States Census Bureau, It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British on October 13, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga. In the 19th century, the city became an important transport hub after the discovery of natural cement in the region, and had both railroad and canal connections. Passenger rail service has since ceased, and many of the older buildings are part of three historic districts, including the Stockade District uptown, the Midtown Neighborhood Broadway Corridor, and the Rondout-West Strand Historic District downtown.

Carnegie library library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie: 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929

A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems. 1,689 were built in the United States, 660 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 125 in Canada, and others in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Serbia, Belgium, France, the Caribbean, Mauritius, Malaysia, and Fiji.

Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style principally derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles, and the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio.

Contents

It served continuously as the city's library until 1974, when it was closed after a newer library was built in the city's Stockade District. Since then it has been the property of the Kingston City School District, which has used it as the offices for the janitorial department at neighboring Kingston High School. In 1995 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Starting in 2009, the library was renovated into an arts and technology center. On September 12, 2011, it was officially reopened as the Carnegie Learning Center used by Kingston High School and the community. [2]

Kingston Stockade District

The Kingston Stockade District is an eight-block area in the western section of Kingston, New York, United States, commonly referred to as Uptown Kingston. It is the original site of the mid-17th century Dutch settlement of Wiltwyck, which was later renamed Kingston when it passed to English control.

Janitor street sweeper, janitor, professional who takes care of buildings such as hospitals and schools

A janitor, janitress (female), custodian, porter, cleaner or caretaker is a person who cleans and maintains buildings such as hospitals, schools, and residential accommodation. Janitors' primary responsibility is as a cleaner. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A similar position, but usually with more managerial duties and not including cleaning, is occupied by building superintendents in the United States. Cleaning is one of the most commonly outsourced services.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Building

The library building sits on a 11,250-square-foot (1,045 m2) lot on the south side of Broadway, slightly raised from street level. Kingston Hospital is across the street, as is City Hall. Just to the east is Kingston High School.

Kingston City Hall (New York)

The City Hall building in Kingston, New York, United States, is located on Broadway in the center of the city. It is a red brick building in a late Victorian architectural style dating from 1873.

It is a one-and-a-half-story rectangular building of brown brick on a rough-cut bluestone foundation. A limestone pedimented entry portal is located in the middle of the front. It is heavily decorated with classical motifs. Two ionic columns frame the recessed entrance. On the pediment itself is a book-and-flower frieze. Limestone bands also go around the building at both the lower end of the brick and the top level of the fenestration. [1]

Bluestone Cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties

Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:

Limestone Sedimentary rocks made of calcium carbonate

Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock that is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). A closely related rock is dolostone, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. In fact, in old USGS publications, dolostone was referred to as magnesian limestone, a term now reserved for magnesium-deficient dolostones or magnesium-rich limestones.

Pediment element in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture

A pediment is an architectural element found particularly in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture, and its derivatives, consisting of a gable, usually of a triangular shape, placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature, typically supported by columns. The tympanum, the triangular area within the pediment, is often decorated with relief sculpture.

Both interior floors are 2,700 square feet (250 m2). The lower floor has what was once a lecture hall with raised dais, two study rooms, two bathrooms and a boiler room. A staircase with a Craftsman-style bannister leads up to the main floor, where there are remnants of a cast iron mezzanine for book stacks. Leaded pane glass partitions divide the rooms. Two fireplace surrounds remain at either end. [1]

Dais raised platform

A dais is a raised platform at the front of a room or hall, usually for one or more speakers or honored guests.

American Craftsman American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle

The American Craftsman style, or the American Arts and Crafts movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art movement, it remained popular into the 1930s. However, in decorative arts and architectural design, it has continued with numerous revivals and restoration projects through present times.

Baluster architectural element; moulded shaft

A baluster—also called spindle—is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, cut from a rectangular or square plank, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood, and sometimes of metal or plastic, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase.

History

Kingston established its first public library in 1899, a quarter-century after it had been formed from a merger of the previous villages of Kingston and Rondout. It was housed in a room in City Hall, but within three years of the library's establishment it had already outgrown it. In 1902 the library's trustees wrote to Andrew Carnegie, who had funded libraries all over the world, to see if he would consider providing them with the money to build a freestanding library. [1]

Rondout, New York former village of New York, United States

Rondout, is situated on the Hudson River, at the mouth of Rondout Creek. Originally a maritime village serving the nearby city of Kingston, New York, Rondout merged with Kingston in 1872. It now includes the Rondout-West Strand Historic District.

Trustee person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another

Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another. A trustee can also refer to a person who is allowed to do certain tasks but not able to gain income. Although in the strictest sense of the term a trustee is the holder of property on behalf of a beneficiary, the more expansive sense encompasses persons who serve, for example, on the board of trustees of an institution that operates for a charity, for the benefit of the general public, or a person in the local government.

Andrew Carnegie American businessman and philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist.

His secretary wrote back. If the city of Kingston would commit itself to spending $3,000 a year ($85,000 [3] in contemporary dollars) to maintain the library, Carnegie would donate $30,000 ($740,000 in contemporary dollars) to build it. City Council accepted the offer and passed an ordinance establishing the required level of funding and accepting Carnegie's gift. Local steamboat magnate Samuel Coykendall donated the land, provided the trustees raise money for its purchase through subscription. Ground was broken in 1903 and the new building was opened the next year. [1]

It remained the city's library until 1974, when more space was needed and the current library on Franklin Street was built. After the library moved out, it became property of the school district. The interior was heavily modified to serve as classroom space, but that proved unworkable. It was used as the offices of the high school's custodial services until renovations. [1]

During that time the building was neglected, and the front entrance was fenced off from the sidewalk. In 2009 school district voters approved a $3.6 million proposal to rehabilitate the library building into an arts and technology center. The building is now open to the Kingston City School District. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kellar, Jane (July 1995). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Kingston City Library". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  2. ↑ Wind, Kyle (October 5, 2009). "Kingston's Carnegie Learning Center bustling with activity". Daily Freeman . Journal Register Company . Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  3. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ Wind, Kyle (February 4, 2009). "Kingston school district voters OK library rehab, warehouse lease". Daily Freeman . Journal Register Company . Retrieved August 17, 2009.
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