The Converse Memorial Library – also known as Converse Memorial Building – is a historically significant building designed by noted American architect

H. H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an 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 ...

. 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 Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...

. The building was a gift of Elisha S. and Mary D. Converse in memory of their murdered son, Frank Eugene Converse, who was the victim of the first bank robbery/murder in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It was constructed 1883-1885 in an overall L-shape, with a facade of brown Longmeadow

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, a tower rising from the L's inner corner, and a heavily arched entry porch set within the L's short arm. The main library room is 50 x 36 feet and finished in elaborately carved white oak with a high, vaulted ceiling. Its furniture was designed by Richardson and manufactured by the Boston firm of

A. H. Davenport and Company 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 Ci ...

. In 1896 two additions were made to the building, designed by Richardson's successor firm,

Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge 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 ...

. One gable-roofed wing extends the building to the rear, along Park Street, following the same general lines of the existing structure. The other addition was a flat-roofed rectangular stack area also attached to the rear. An octagonal gallery space further extended the rear in 1916, designed by Newhall & Blevins. The Converse Memorial Building was the last of Richardson's library designs, and is generally considered among his finest works. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1987. (includes plans and drawings) and

In Popular Culture

The interior of the library's historic wing provided the setting for a scene in the movie

Ted 2 ''Ted 2'' (stylized as ted2) is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild. The second installment in the ''Ted'' franchise, it serves as a sequel to the 2012 film of the ...

, starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

and

Amanda Seyfried Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera ...

References

Gallery

Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - street view.JPG, General view from street Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - end view.JPG, End view Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - decorated facade.JPG, Facade decorations Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - tower.JPG, Tower detail Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - columns.JPG, Columns Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - detail.JPG, Detail Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - ornament.JPG, Ornament Image:Converse Memorial Library (Malden, MA) - American Architect & Building News.JPG, 1885 illustrations of the library

External links

* Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ''H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works'', MIT Press, 1985, page 314. . * American Library Association, ''Annual Conference Proceedings of the American Library Association'', 1889, pages 78–79.
National Historic Landmarks entry

Filming ‘Ted 2’ at Malden Public Library
{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1885 Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Henry Hobson Richardson buildings National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Libraries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Public libraries in Massachusetts Education in Malden, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Malden, Massachusetts

In Popular Culture

See also

References

Gallery

External links