Howland Cultural Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Howland Library
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North (front) elevation and west profile, 2009
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Beacon, NY |
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| Built | 1872 |
| Architect | Richard Morris Hunt |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001180 |
| Added to NRHP | 1973 |
The Howland Cultural Center is a special building in Beacon, New York. It used to be called the Howland Library. This fancy brick building was designed by a famous architect named Richard Morris Hunt in the 1870s. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
Richard Morris Hunt was asked by his brother-in-law, Joseph Howland, to design this building. Joseph Howland wanted to create a library for the community. The building's design looks a lot like the summer homes Hunt designed in Newport, Rhode Island. Some people even say parts of it look like old Norwegian buildings. The inside of the building was finished later, near the end of the 1800s. Since then, it has mostly stayed the same, except for some updates to its heating and cooling systems.
For many years, the Howland Library was one of the only libraries in New York where you had to pay to borrow books (a "subscription library"). But in the late 1920s, a generous person left money to the library. This gift allowed the library to become free for everyone. About 50 years later, the library needed more space and moved to a bigger building. Since then, the old building has been used as the Howland Cultural Center. It hosts many art shows, music concerts, and other fun events for the community.
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The Howland Cultural Center Building
The Howland Cultural Center is located in downtown Beacon. It sits at the corner of Main Street and Tioronda Avenue. The area around it has many other buildings and shops. A large church is right across the street.
South of the center, there's a wooded area with some houses. The Madam Brett Homestead, a very old stone house from 1709, is also nearby. Beacon's post office, another historic building, is just a short walk away on Main Street.
Outside the Building
The building has two stories and is made of brick. Its base is built with strong bluestone and granite from a nearby place called Breakneck Ridge. The first floor is covered in brick. The second floor has colorful, fish-shaped wooden shingles. The roof has six pointed sections and is covered in dark gray slate. There's also a brick chimney on one side.
The front of the building has arched windows and a main entrance. These are decorated with patterns made of black and light brown bricks. Six wooden pillars stand near the main entrance, holding up a part of the second story. This part creates a small roof over the entrance steps.
The second floor has tall, narrow windows. These windows stick out above the roofline and have small roofs of their own, making them look like little houses on the roof. The wood trim around the shingles is painted red. The very center window on the second floor has a unique look, almost like a half-timbered house. It has a rounded window above it.
On the sides of the building, you'll find more windows. Some sections have decorative wooden designs. One larger section has a big window with smaller windows next to it. Above it, there's a special carved area with fancy patterns.
Inside the Building
The inside of the Howland Cultural Center is a big, open space. The floors are made of special wood like hemlock and Georgia pine. This helps to make the room quieter. There's a second-story balcony that goes around the room. It has a beautiful wrought iron railing and is held up by carved wooden pillars.
The walls have built-in bookshelves, and the lower part of the walls is paneled with wood. Tall pillars made of Georgia pine and special "hammerbeam" supports hold up the high ceiling, which is about 33 feet (10 meters) tall. Even the doors are special! They are carved to look like books with pages when they are closed.
Besides the main open area, there's a small entrance room and two small offices on the first floor. On the second floor, there are three more small rooms. These rooms used to be the librarian's apartment, but now they are also used as offices.
History of the Howland Cultural Center
The idea for the Howland Library came from Joseph Howland. He was a general in the American Civil War and used to be the treasurer for New York State. In late 1871, he asked his brother-in-law, Richard Morris Hunt, to design the building. Joseph Howland lived about a mile south of where the building stands today.
In early 1872, a meeting was held for people interested in starting a library where members would pay a fee. By August of that year, the building was finished. The library officially opened, and Joseph Howland gave the building to the library's board of trustees.
Hunt's design for the library was similar to the styles he used for wealthy vacation homes in Newport, Rhode Island. It featured colorful materials and a "picturesque" look, meaning it was designed to look like a beautiful scene. The wooden decorations around the main entrance also showed hints of the "Stick style," which was a new architectural trend. In 1940, a guidebook even described it as looking like a "Norwegian chalet style" building.
The Howland Library was one of the last libraries to rely on natural light for its reading room. It started with 2,200 books, and the collection quickly grew. In 1887, electric lights were added, replacing the old gas lamps. Seven years later, in 1894, more space was needed, so the upper gallery was added. This was the last big change to the building's structure. Over the years, the heating system has also been updated.
Even after the villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing merged to form the city of Beacon, the library remained a "subscribers-only" library. In the late 1920s, it was one of only two such libraries left in the state. A wealthy local resident left money to the library, but only if it became a free public library. This happened in 1929, making it essentially the city's main library.
In 1942, Nancy Lamont, the second librarian, left her job. She and the first librarian had worked there for a combined 70 years! The library continued to serve Beacon from this building until the 1970s. By then, the city had grown so much that the building was too small. In 1976, the library moved to a vacant department store building a few blocks away, where it is still located today and is still called the Howland Library.
After the library moved out, the Howland Cultural Center was created. Its goal was to keep the historic building in use and preserve it. Today, it hosts many different events, including art exhibits, music performances, and community meetings. It also rents out the building for events like small weddings.
In 2007, the center installed a geothermal heating system. This system uses the Earth's natural heat to warm and cool the building, which helps save energy and reduces the use of fossil fuels. It works by circulating water through pipes buried deep underground. This new system heats the building much more efficiently and cools it more efficiently too. It's also quieter, which is great for concerts and performances.
