Goodrich Memorial Library
History
Converse Goodhue Goodrich and his wife, Almira, donated money for the construction of a free library. The land was worth $6000, the building $20,000. Construction was started in 1898. It dedicated on September 1, 1899. Architect William Storey designed the building.
The stock used to fund the operations of the library failed during the depression in 1933. This forced the library to enlist public support.
It opened with 6500 books.
In November 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Administration
The library budget for 2008 is $160,550. Newport city contributes $99,000 of this amount.
Facilities
There are fireplaces fashioned of colored brick, rooms finished in red birch, Georgia pine, cypress, native spruce, Swanton red marble, with furnishings in quartered oak.
The upstairs hall consists of an art room, decorated more or less in period style, a long hall for meetings, an office, and a reading room. There are several old paintings on display in the art room, and a display case of postcards and paraphernalia from Newport's history.
Perhaps most noteworthy is the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass cases that house a variety of stuffed animals and natural curiosities. These include an alligator shot in Florida in the 1900s, an ostrich egg, and a flying squirrel found in Vermont. As they were originally preserved with mercury, they can only be handled and cared for by trained professionals.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ History of the Goodrich Library Archived 2012-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance". vmga.org. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- ^ Annual City & School Report, City of Newport, Vermont. Memphremagog Press, Inc., Newport, Vermont. 2007.
External links
Media related to Goodrich Memorial Library at Wikimedia Commons