The Public Library of New London is a historic library located at 63 Huntington Street at the corner of State Street,

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

. The library was given to the city by Henry Philomen Haven. It was constructed in 1889-92Plaque on building and was designed by

Shepley, Rutan and 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 ...

in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style; George Warren Cole was the project supervisor."Architects & Architecture: Pride of Place: The Architects who transformed New London"
on the ''New London Landmarks'' website 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 1970.

Design

Whaling merchant Henry P. Haven died in 1876, and his money was to be split among his three children. However, his son Thomas had died, so Thomas' portion was put into a trust to be used for "charitable and benevolent purposes". The trustees of the Haven inheritance secured a charter in 1882 for a public library, and they hired

of Boston to design it. Childrens Room, New London Public Library, New London CT

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge were the successors to architect

Henry Hobson 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 ...

, and they worked from Richardson's preliminary designs in order to retain the popular Richardsonian architecture that is found in other libraries. The firm sent George Warren Cole to be the project supervisor. Cole also served as the supervisor of the

Williams Memorial Institute The Williams School is a private co-educational secondary school in New London, Connecticut, that offers classes from 6th grade to 12th grade. It was founded as the Williams Memorial Institute (WMI) by Harriet Peck Williams in 1891, following the ...

and the Nathan Hale School. Work commenced in 1889 and it was completed and opened by July 1891.

Alteration and expansion

The 1970 National Register of Historic Places nomination states that the building had not been altered with "one possible exception of an elevator" which seemed to date from the nineteenth century but "does not appear in the plans." However, the library added a 15,000 square foot extension in 1974. Further renovations increased the space for administrative offices and collections, concluding in March 2001. The Children's area and meeting rooms also underwent renovations in 2006.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1889 Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Libraries in New London County, Connecticut Public libraries in Connecticut Buildings and structures in New London, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Connecticut

Design

Alteration and expansion

See also

References

External links