Taunton Public Library
Architecture and history
The Taunton Public Library is set on the south side of Pleasant Street, a short east–west road in the center of Taunton. It is set among a number of other civic and institutional buildings. The oldest portion of the building is a T-shaped masonry structure built out of Indiana limestone in 1903 to a Beaux Arts and Classical Revival design by Albert R. Ross. The leg of the T projects forward, creating a section three bays wide and one deep, with the main entrance at its center. The entrance is recessed within a round-arch opening, topped by a broken pediment and cartouche. The bays of the projecting section are divided by full-height Corinthian engaged columns, with Corinthian pilasters near the coroners. These support a multi-layer entablature, above which a dentillated cornice encircles the building below its truncated hip roof. Differing window sizes and shapes give variety to the structure. In 1979, a large addition brick-faced addition was added to the rear of the original building.
The 1903 building's construction was made possible by a gift of $70,000 from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Gallery
-
Southeast corner view
-
Plaque on the library wall
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Taunton, Massachusetts
- List of Carnegie libraries in Massachusetts
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "NRHP nomination and MACRIS inventory record for Taunton Public Library". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
External links
Media related to Taunton Public Library at Wikimedia Commons
- Taunton Public Library - official site