Goodrich Memorial Library
The Goodrich Memorial Library is a public library in Newport, Orleans County, Vermont. It is the largest and only one of two full-time libraries in the county. It is located at 202 Main Street in downtown Newport, in a Romanesque building constructed in 1899.
Goodrich Memorial Library | |
 | |
| Location | 202 Main St., Newport, Vermont  United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°56′9.24″N 72°12′37.44″W |
| Built | 1899 |
| Architect | William Storey |
| Architectural style | "Romanesque, Queen Anne" |
| Part of | Newport Downtown Historic District (ID06000898) |
| NRHP reference No. | 83004228[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 23, 1983 |
| Designated CP | September 28, 2006 |
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.[2] Architect William Storey designed the building.[3]
The stock used to fund the operations of the library failed during the depression in 1933. This forced the library to enlist public support.[2]
It opened with 6500 books.[2]
In November 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Administration
The library budget for 2008 is $160,550. Newport city contributes $99,000 of this amount.[4]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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
