Woburn Public Library, previously known as the Winn Memorial Library (1876–79) is 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 ...

Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...

. Designed by 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 ...

, the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

building was a bequest of the Winn family. It houses the Woburn Public Library, an institution that was established in 1856. The library is also home to the Dr. Thomas J. Glennon Archives. The Glennon Archives holds many important records dating back to Woburn's early history in the 1600s. The Archives maintains more than two hundred separate manuscript collections relating to Woburn's history, several special collections of books including a rare book collection, tens of thousands of photographs, published genealogies, broadsides, maps, ephemera, and museum objects. Many of the Archives' museum objects can be viewed in th
Historical Artifacts Room
located in the Octagon Room of the Richardson Building. In 2019, the library completed a $33 million renovation project, adding an additional 30,500 square feet to complement the historic Richardson Building. The new addition includes an innovative Maker Space, a Teen Room, a Program Room, a climate-controlled Archives and Reading Room, and a spacious Children's Department which is complemented by a craft room and play area. The library was subsequently honored with a 2023 AIA/ALA Award for Library Design.

Architecture

The library is properly called the "Woburn Public Library." The Winn family paid to construct the building and provide an endowment for the library but specifically requested that it not be named for them. Nevertheless, Richardson signed his plans "Winn Library," and it remains known in architectural circles as "Winn Memorial Library." The inscription in the entrance porch reads: "This building was erected in memory of Jonathan Bowers Winn from funds bequeathed by his son, for the use, benefit and improvement of the people of Woburn." It was built between 1876 and 1879 and was the first in a series of libraries designed by Richardson. In it he established a characteristic

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

l plan for such buildings: an off-axis entrance marked by a staircase tower; a vestibule opening into a high-ceilinged reception area; reading room(s) adjacent to the stacks; and an optional art gallery. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 in recognition of its architectural significance. and The library's main (south) facade presents a long, two-story stack wing to the west (left), slit windows on the first story with a strip of

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows separated by columns above, all below a peaked roof. The gable-ended crossing (center) features a trio of arched double windows on the first story, a line of seven arched single windows above, and an attached

High Victorian High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...

tower. On the opposite side of the tower is the arch of the entrance porch. The easternmost section is an attached two-and-a-half-story octagonal wing that houses the library'
museum
The building's

polychromatic Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statue ...

exterior is constructed of

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

trimmed with lighter stone, sometimes laid in bands, and set in alternating colors over the main arches and the entrance porch. This is all beneath a red tile roof trimmed with bronze cresting, with

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

ed ribs on the roofs of the tower and museum. The interior features a reception room/picture gallery with the museum to the right and a trio of reading rooms to the left. Beyond the reading rooms are the two-story stacks that feature a tall 6-arch

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

on each side, topped by a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling. There are curved staircases at the four corners of the stacks, in addition to the main stair in the tower. A statue of native son and notable scientist Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, stands on the main lawn before the library. File:Winn Memorial Library - Woburn, MA - DSC02863.JPG, Gable and tower. File:Winn Memorial Library - Woburn, MA - DSC02854.JPG, Museum exterior. File:Winn Memorial Library - Woburn, MA - DSC02871.JPG, Entrance porch. File:Winn Memorial Library - Woburn, MA - DSC02873.JPG, Memorial plaque. File:Winn Memorial Library - Woburn, MA - DSC02875.JPG, Entrance. Image:1890 ArtGallery in WoburnPublicLibrary Massachusetts.png, Reception room/picture gallery, ca.1890. Image:1890 NaturalHistoryRoom in WoburnPublicLibrary Massachusetts.png, Museum/natural history room, ca.1890. Image:1890 WoburnPublicLibrary Massachusetts3.png, Reading rooms, ca.1890. Image:1890 WoburnPublicLibrary Massachusetts2.png, Book stacks, ca.1890. File:1890 WoburnPublicLibrary Massachusetts.png, Book stacks, ca.1890.

References

External links

from Great Buildings.
Winn Memorial Library
from ArchiPlanet. {{authority control Library buildings completed in 1879 Public libraries in Massachusetts Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Henry Hobson Richardson buildings National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Woburn, Massachusetts Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1856 establishments in Massachusetts Libraries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading

External links