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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

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

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 in ...

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 ...

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 archit ...

library building was constructed in 1902 by Coombs & Gibbs. 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 ...

in 1978.

Expansion

Pilsbury Block - Lewiston Public Library Maine

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.

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

History

Design

Expansion

See also

References

External links