Ramsdell Public Library is one of two public library buildings of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is located at 1087 Main Street in the Housatonic village, in a two-story Beaux Arts building erected c. 1908. The building was a gift to the town by T. Ellis Ramsdell, fulfilling a bequest by his father Theodore, owner of the

Monument Mills Monument Mills are historic textile mills at Park and Front Streets in the Housatonic village of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Developed beginning in the mid-19th century, they were a major American producer of jacquard fabrics, operating unt ...

. It was designed by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

architects McLean & Wright, with a sympathetic rear addition (added 1928–30) designed by the

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

firm of

Harding & Seaver Harding and Seaver was an architectural firm based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, active from 1902 to 1947. It was the partnership of architects George C. Harding (1867–1921) and Henry M. Seaver (1873–1947). Biographies of founders George C. ...

. It was listed on 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 2014. The other branch of the Great Barrington library system is at 231 Main Street.

Architecture and history

Ramsdell Public Library is located in Housatonic village, set between the Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire, formerly the

Housatonic Congregational Church The Housatonic Congregational Church is a historic church building at 1089 Main Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Built in 1892 it is a prominent local example of Queen Anne Revival architecture, and was listed on the National Register o ...

, and the Corpus Christi Church on the north side of Main Street. The original 1908 main block is stories in height, built out of yellow brick with marble trim. The main facade is three bays wide, with a projecting gabled entry pavilion at the center. The entry pavilion has marble corner quoins, and a further projection with an entablature and dentillated gable supported by pilasters and Ionic columns. The entrance has glass-paneled double doors, set in a recess framed by marble trim and topped by a sill with a foliated cartouche, and a half-round transom window. Windows on the ground floor are set in rectangular openings with splayed keystoned lintels; there are small windows beneath the eaves that illuminate the rooms of the half-story. The interior begins with a tiled entry area, with stairs rising around the outer walls to a large meeting room that occupies most of the upper story. The entry opens into a central rotunda, with reading rooms on either side, and stacks and librarian area to the rear. The openings to these spaces are flanked by wooden columns finished in emulation of marble. Walls are plastered, with oak trim around the windows, doors, and fireplaces. The rear addition nearly doubles the space of the building, extending behind the central and western portions of the main block. It provides for an enlarged reference area, more stacks, and a dedicated workroom for the library staff. The building was designed by the Boston partnership of McLean & Wright, which apparently later adapted this design for the

Shedd-Porter Memorial Library The Shedd-Porter Memorial Library, located at 3 Main Street, is the public library of Alstead, New Hampshire. The library building was a gift to the town from John Graves Shedd and Mary Roenna (Porter) Shedd, and is a Beaux Arts building built in ...

in Alstead, New Hampshire, and the

Weeks Memorial Library The William D. Weeks Memorial Library, also referred to as the Weeks Memorial Library, is a publicly funded, nonprofit library governed by the Town of Lancaster in Coös County, New Hampshire. Located at 128 Main Street, the single-story brick bu ...

Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 ce ...

, both of which post-date this building by a few years. It is a particularly fine local example of Classical Revival architecture.

References

External links

Great Barrington Libraries
{{authority control Infrastructure completed in 1908 Public libraries in Massachusetts Libraries in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Great Barrington, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1908 establishments in Massachusetts

Architecture and history

See also

References

External links