7 \i922e | GRIVERSITY OF {LLINWIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN BOO keane aa . t 5 b ‘ i Ue dee ay Ye ay. Ae 7 gh a Way " AL un tee Fy fia! ist 4 » iy vi \ A i, rv Mon Win * va 2) Ww HH AW i ; ’ - 322-8 The Library Record. Mae. III—Noz 3: WORCESTER, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1890. 50 Cents A YEAR “ NEW FREE DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. l Prepared for the Library Record, BY STEPHEN C. EARLE, ARCHITECT. Fora number of years the Free Public Library Building has been in a very crowded condition and constantly becoming more so with the yearly additoin of new books, until every available space has been filled to over- flowing. The need of more room was long ago conceded and various schemes were pro. posed for supplying the want. Various sites were suggested for a new building with'a view to removing the whole library ; also sites for branch libraries; then the various adjoining properties were considered with a-view to adding to the original building. The plan of getting new accommodations in connection with the old, being finally decided to be the advisable one, the general desire was to occupy the lot to the south and thus get a frontage on Pearl street and a building ex- tending from street to street. It was however found that the lot adjoining the library on the east, could be bought on much more ad- vantageous terms, and the purchase was authorized by the City Council and the property conveyed by deed to the city from the owner, Dr. J. O. Marble, April 26, 1888. Steps were at once taken looking towards building, and Stephen C. Earle, architect, was employed under direction of Mr. Green the Librarian, and Mr. Peck, Superintendent of Public Buildings, to make preliminary sketches which were finally approved by the Board of Directors, in the fall of 1888, and POLLARD ENG. CO. the City Council was asked to make appro- priations for the work. It was not however, until July &th,. 1889, that an order was passed appropriating $40,000 for beginning the work on the basis of a total cost of $100,000. Pro- posals were then invited from builders, and a contract was made with Cutting & Bishop, the lowest bidders, dated August 7, 1889, for $84,306, the Committee reserving certain parts to be done by separate contract. The work was immediately started, and owing to the mildness of the winter, continu- ed without interruption, so that the roof was completed early in the Spring of 1890, and the inside work begun. It is now substan- tially finished, ready for furniture and fix- tures. The building is somewhat irregular in plan, its form being determined by the exi- gencies of light, both for this and the old building, and in the interest of light the con- nection between the old and the new, while it fills the entire space between them in the basement, above that consists only of a cor- ridor and connecting lavatories. The main floor of the new building is level with that of the old, and by reason of the grade of the street, the new basement is a story of 12 feet in which is the new main entrance. The consideration of the need of light and the nature of the street grade, seemed to require that the new building should be treated by itself, rather than as an addition to the old building and to allow a different architectural style and the use of different materials. In place of the pressed brick and fine cut stone, Pompeian brick with rock faced granite and Leatta. .The. style is Ronse: esque PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING, WORCESTER, MASS. brown stone are used, enriched with some carving and a special feature in red terra At the North East corner is a square massive tower with a pyramidal roof carried only a little above the main roof, the basement story of which makes the main entrance through a wide, semi-circular archway, into a broad and deep open porch with tiled floor. The entrance arch is flanked both sides by enrich- ed pilasters supporting a heavy cap and ter- minated with a large brown stone carved owl over each pilaster. Above the entrance a curved oriel window is carried up through two stories, giving a pleasant outlook up and down the street, from the tower rooms. At the North West corner is a private entrance to the basement and reached by a flight of outside steps. The door opens directly into a room 14 x 22 feet, designed for the janitor’s use for unpacking &c. The facade between the entrances is pierced with windows as large as the construction will allow, four to each story, and over each a semicircular arch” ed panel in red terra cotta, of Romanesque conventional ornament, encircling a medal- lion portrait of heroic size, in bold relief. These are intended to be representative char- acters of different ages, different nations and different departments of literature, of course very general in their way, as there are only four of them; thus, ancient Greece and History are represented by Thucydides; later Rome; Oratory and Philosophy, by Cicero; the Elizabethan age, England and Literature, by Shakespeare ; and our own time and country, natural and applied Science, by Franklin. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINGIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ir THE LIBRARY RECORD. PLAN OF BASEMENT. On entering the building by the main oaken door, we find ourselves in a spacious vesti- bule with floor of mosaic tiles and walls of red pressed brick. Directly opposite is the janitor’s room 8x15 1-2 feet, and to the right is the door to the Reading Room. This vestibule also has main stairs in handsome oak finish, leading to the several stories. The Reading room occupies the whole of the basement, except the part used for janitor’s rooms, stairways, corridors and lavatories, and is divided into three parts by the columns supporting the walls and floors above, the dimensions of the several sections being 28x 29 and 29x41 at the front and 35x50 in the rear. In the middle of the West side is a corridor connecting with the old building on the several stories, and having stairways running up through all the stories. There is also a first class hydraulic passenger elevator connecting with each story, and on each story in connection with the corridor are convenient lavatories and closets. There is a fine cellar under the whole of the basement, which is as yet unappropriated except the part used for heating appian, us.and fuel. IN Init PLAN OF FIRST FLOOR. On the main floor next to the main en_ trance hall, is the Green Library Reading room, 29x 41, and separated from this only by an arcade of three openings, is the Libra- rian’s and assistants’ work room, 25x28. Both of these rooms are lighted from the front. Over the entrance is the Librarian’s private room, 13x18. The remainder of this story which is sixteen feet high, is devoted to the stack room of the Green Library, togeth- er with aroom directly over it which is exactly similar except that the height of the story is but fourteen feet. Each stack room will be filled with iron stacks for books and will have an intermediate perforated floor, and together are expected to accommodate the present library and its natural growth for twenty-five years. A small elevator connects the differ- ent floors of the stack rooms. This part of the building is of fire proof construction, and the remainder,while it has wooden floor joists, has wire lathing for ceilings, mineral wool between floors, and walls plastered on to the brick-work or on to terra-cotta furring. PLAN OF SECOND STORY. The second story has a Lecture hall 29 x 41 directly over the Green Library Reading room; west of this is the Directors’ room, 14 x25, and in the north-west corner, the cat- alogue room, 13 1-2x30. In the tower isa study room, 13x18 and another of the same size is over it in the third story. The remain- PLAN OF THIRD STORY. ing portion of the third story is intended for the storage and use of the collection of art works in the shape of books and plates, in which the library is very rich. There are three of these rooms all finely lighted from the top, the south one which is 35x50, also having windows on three sides. The rooms in the front are25 x28 and 29x4I. The building is heated by steam, in part by direct radiation, part indirect, and other parts still by direct-indirect, and for ventilation, in addition to open fireplaces in most of the rooms, there are also ample ducts for foul air exit, in which a current is secured by heat. The wood finish of the building of which there is but little, is of white pine finished without paint, and it is expected that plain light tints will be given to the walls and ceil- ings. The artificial lighting will be by both gas and the incandescent electric light. She Wanted One, Two. An awning maker who had received a postal card asking him to call at a house on Porter street, put in an appearance as soon as possible, and the woman of the house pointed to the window she wanted provided with a shade. “ But you get no sun on this window,” pro- tested the man. “ Well, suppose I don’t.” ‘“‘ But an awning is to keep the sun out.” “Is it? Perhaps you are not too old to learn something.” ‘But, ma’m, do you really want an awning here?” “Of course I do. Do you see that awning on the next house ?” “Yes; but the sun strikes that window.” “Can’t help that. That woman thinks she owns the earth. She put that awning uy to spite me. I am going to put one up to show her that she can’t run this town. Go ahead and have it done as soon as possible; and I want it a fiery red with white stripes in it.” Don’t Refuse. ; -There will come a time when childhood will be only a memory to the children of today. Are we who govern their outgoings and in- comings making those memories as pleasant as possible? Do we always say “ yes” when the little inconveniences that an affirmative answer will cause are more than a thousand times overbalanced by the happiness given the little ones? I am no advocate of care- lessness. I do not believe in turning children into the street and letting them run anywhere, with any kind of companions, so that they but keep out of our way; but my early expe~ rience was so depressing that I can never wish to deprive a child of any legitimate pleasure. I like to see the little ones haveall the harmless joys of childhood, the freedom of the blessed air and sunshine, and all the moderately safe plays and little excursions possible. They can be young but once, Brush the ugly wrinkles from your brow, tired mother, when the pattering little feet come in and the merry children ask some special favor; brush all the cobwebs away, and if possible please do not say “ no.” —Kit Clover. People talk of “ getting over” a great sor. row—passing it by, thrusting it into oblivion. No one ever does that; at least, no nature which can be touched by the feeling of grief. The only way is to pass through the ocean of affliction solemnly, with humility and faith, as the Israelites passed through the sea, — Then its very waves of misery will divide and become to usa wall on the right side and on the left, until the gulf narrows and narrows before us and we land,safe on. the opposite shore. Little Nan of four summers, considering it her duty to entertain a lady who is waiting for mamma, enters into conversation. Nan—Have you got any little girls? The Caller—Yes, I have two. Nan—D-do you ever have to whip ’em? Caller—I’m afraid I have to, sometimes. Nan—What do you whip;’em with? Caller (amused)—Oh, when they’ve been very naughty I take my slipper. Nan (most feelingly, as mamma enters)— Y-yo-you ought to use a hair brush; my mamma does, and it hurts awfully.—Zzf. REGINALD, my dear, can you not take the girls out where they can gather some autumn leaves to-morrow ?” ; “Yes, I guess so. But what is the matter with the leaves about the place? There is as good a variety of leaves within a hundred feet of the house as there is within ten miles.” “Oh, the girls don’t care anything about the leaves, Reginald. They want to eat sand- wiches and jelly cake in the woods.—Hart¢. Jord Post. The Public Library of Keene, N. H., gets — $30,000 from Mr. John Symonds’ legacy, which becomes available by the recent death of his widow. THE church fair lottery must go, too. The law authorities of the United States say so. The deacons will please make a note of it and behave accordingly.—Hera/d. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2021 with funding trom University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/newtfreepubliclib00ear! 3 0112 075129335 ‘oii ) ae Bee :