Warder Public Library is a historically significant building in Springfield, Ohio, United States. A robust example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, it was a gift to the city from industrialist Benjamin H. Warder, and served as the main branch of the Clark County Public Library from 1890 to 1989. It now houses the Clark County (Warder) Literacy Center.
Warder (1824–1894) was president of Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company (established 1879), headquartered in Springfield, manufacturers of Champion harvesters and farm machinery. In 1902, Warder's company merged with four others — McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Deering Harvester Company, Milwaukee Harvester Company, Plano Manufacturing Company — to form International Harvester.
Warder and his business partners, Asa S. Bushnell and John J. Glessner, each hired Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson to design a house: the Warder Mansion in Washington, DC. (1885–88); the Bushnell Mansion in Springfield, Ohio (1885–88);[2] and the John J. Glessner House in Chicago, Illinois (1885–87). Richardson died in 1886, but architects in his office completed the houses and formed a successor firm: Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Warder hired them to design the library.
The L-shaped building is located at the southwest corner of High Street and Spring Avenue. It is constructed of Ohio buff sandstone trimmed with Worcester brownstone, under a red slate roof. The east wing features an arcaded entrance porch; at the juncture of the wings is a tower that contains the staircase. The main reading room features a massive stone fireplace, 18 feet tall and 12 1/2 feet wide.[3] In plan and massing, the building is closely related to Richardson's Converse Memorial Library (1885) in Malden, Massachusetts.[4]
Warder donated the building as a memorial to his parents. A plaque reads:
This library has been erected in memory of Jeremiah and Ann A. Warder by their son Benjamin Head Warder. It is given to the people of Springfield for their free enjoyment and is left in their charge forever. Dedicated June 12th, 1890.[This quote needs a citation]
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately 45 miles (72 km) west of Columbus and 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg University, a liberal arts college.
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after Architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque characteristics. Richardson first used elements of the style in his Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo, New York, designed in 1870. Multiple architects followed in this style in the late 1800s; Richardsonian Romanesque later influenced modern styles of architecture as well.
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent North American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one of "the recognized trinity of American architecture".
Asa Smith Bushnell I was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 40th Governor of Ohio. Prior to becoming governor, he served as the president of the Warder, Bushnell and Glessner Company, which became one of four companies that merged to form International Harvester. Other roles in business included serving as president of the Springfield Gas Company and the First National Bank of Springfield.
Warder Mansion is an apartment complex at 2633 16th Street Northwest, in the Meridian Hill Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the only surviving building in the city designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. In an early example of preservation commitment, the building was saved from demolition in the 1920s by being disassembled and moved 1.5 miles north of its original site. In the 1990s, the Warder-Totten House's prospects for survival again looked bleak, but the building was saved a second time.
The John J. Glessner House, operated as the Glessner House, is an architecturally important 19th-century residence located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. It was designed in 1885–1886 by architect Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in late 1887. The property was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 14, 1970. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 17, 1970, and as a National Historic Landmark on January 7, 1976.
Clark County Public Library is the public library of Clark County, Ohio, United States. It is based in Springfield, Ohio and has a collection of approximately 500,000 items.
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson.
George Keller, was an American architect and engineer. He enjoyed a diverse and successful career, and was sought for his designs of bridges, houses, monuments, and various commercial and public buildings. Keller's most famous projects, however, are the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford, Connecticut, and the James A. Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Converse Memorial Library – also known as Converse Memorial Building – is a historically significant building designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson. From 1885 to 1996, it housed the Malden Public Library, which now occupies a modern building adjacent to it. The former library is located at 36 Salem Street, Malden, Massachusetts.
Winn Memorial Library, also known as the Woburn Public Library (1876–79) is a National Historic Landmark in Woburn, Massachusetts. Designed by architect H. H. Richardson, the Romanesque Revival building was a bequest of the Winn family. It houses the Woburn Public Library, an institution that was established in 1856.
The Prairie Avenue District is a historic district in the Near South Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. It includes the 1800 and 1900 blocks of South Prairie Avenue and the 1800 block of South Indiana, and 211-217 East Cullerton. It was the site of the Battle of Fort Dearborn and became the city's most fashionable residential district after the Great Chicago Fire. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 27, 1979. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1972. The John J. Glessner House, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1885–1886 at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue, has been restored as a historic house museum and is open for public tours. In 2006, the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance, a non-profit organization was formed to provide representation for thousands of South Loop residents, including the Prairie District, Central Station and Museum Park, Motor Row, the South Michigan Ave Corridor, as well as other areas of the Near South Side.
Robert Henderson Robertson was an American architect who designed numerous houses, institutional buildings and churches.
Wilson Brothers & Company was a prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was especially noted for its structural expertise. The brothers designed or contributed engineering work to hundreds of bridges, railroad stations and industrial buildings, including the principal buildings at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. They also designed churches, hospitals, schools, hotels and private residences. Among their surviving major works are the Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge over the Schuylkill River (1866–67), the main building of Drexel University (1888–91), and the train shed of Reading Terminal (1891–93), all in Philadelphia.
Prairie Avenue is a north–south street on the South Side of Chicago, which historically extended from 16th Street in the Near South Side to the city's southern limits and beyond. The street has a rich history from its origins as a major trail for horseback riders and carriages. During the last three decades of the 19th century, a six-block section of the street served as the residence of many of Chicago's elite families and an additional four-block section was also known for grand homes. The upper six-block section includes part of the historic Prairie Avenue District, which was declared a Chicago Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Lagonda Club Building is a historic clubhouse in downtown Springfield, Ohio, United States. Designed by Frank Mills Andrews, a leading period architect who was responsible for the construction of the Kentucky State Capitol, the clubhouse is a three-story structure with a large basement. Various materials are present on different parts of the exterior — while the foundation and first story are constructed of dressed limestone, the second through fourth floors are built of brick; their only stone elements are stone trim around some of the windows.
Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and architecture of the greater Boston area. Many of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Benjamin Head Warder was an American manufacturer of agricultural machinery, based in Springfield, Ohio, for much of his career. After he had retired, in 1902 the company he co-founded merged with four others to form International Harvester. Warder commissioned and donated a new library for Springfield in 1890, as a memorial to his parents.
The East High Street Historic District is a cluster of mansions on the eastern side of Springfield, Ohio, United States. Located along one of Springfield's most important thoroughfares and once home to some of its most prominent residents, the cluster was named a historic district in 1974.
A. H. Davenport and Company was a late 19th-century, early 20th-century American furniture manufacturer, cabinetmaker, and interior decoration firm. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it sold luxury items at its showrooms in Boston and New York City, and produced furniture and interiors for many notable buildings, including The White House. The word "davenport," meaning a boxy sofa or sleeper-sofa, comes from the company.
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