The Lewiston Public Library is a historic
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
Carnegie library at Park and Pine Street in
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...
.
History
![Lewiston public library postcard ME](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Lewiston_public_library_postcard_ME.jpg)
In 1902
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
donated $60,000 for a new granite building with the understanding that the city would fund staff, books, and materials. Granite was acquired from
North Jay and
Norridgewock
Norridgewock was the name of both an Indigenous village and a band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The French of New France called the village Ke ...
to be used for the construction. The vestibule was modeled after the Greek design with columns 18 feet high and 25 inches in circumference. Woodwork of fine oak is found on the fireplace mantels and oak pillars.
The original library located in Lewiston City Hall was known as the Manufacturers and Mechanics Library. The library was formed on January 26, 1861, and existed until the first Lewiston City Hall burned on January 7, 1890. The current library still has several volumes that have the Manufacturers and Mechanics library stamps in them.
Design
The
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...
library building was constructed in 1902 by
Coombs & Gibbs
George M. Coombs (November 27, 1851 – March 27, 1909) was an American architect in practice in Lewiston, Maine from 1874 to 1909.
Life and career
George Millard Coombs was born November 27, 1851, in Brunswick, Maine to John Matthews Coomb ...
. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
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 or "great artistic v ...
in 1978.
Expansion
![Pilsbury Block - Lewiston Public Library Maine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Pilsbury_Block_-_Lewiston_Public_Library_Maine.jpg)
The building was significantly renovated in 1996, including moving the main entrance one block to the west. The Marsden Hartley Cultural Center was opened in 2005
and is named for Lewiston's native son
Marsden Hartley
Marsden Hartley (January 4, 1877 – September 2, 1943) was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley developed his painting abilities by observing Cubist artists in Paris and Berlin.
Early life and education
Hartley was born ...
, a renowned artist/poet.
See also
*
References
External links
Lewiston Public Library official websiteCity of Lewiston
{{authority control
Library buildings completed in 1902
Public libraries in Maine
Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Educational buildings in Lewiston, Maine
Education in Lewiston, Maine
Tourist attractions in Lewiston, Maine
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Libraries in Androscoggin County, Maine
Carnegie libraries in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine