Ramsdell Public Library facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ramsdell Public Library
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Front of the library
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1087 Main St., Great Barrington, Massachusetts |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architect | McLean & Wright; Harding & Seaver |
| NRHP reference No. | 14000440 |
| Added to NRHP | July 25, 2014 |
The Ramsdell Public Library is one of two public library buildings in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. You can find it at 1087 Main Street in the Housatonic village. It's a two-story building built around 1908 in a style called Beaux Arts.
This library building was a gift to the town from T. Ellis Ramsdell. He gave it to honor his father, Theodore Ramsdell, who owned a company called Monument Mills. The main part of the building was designed by architects McLean & Wright from Boston. Later, a new section was added between 1928 and 1930 by the firm Harding & Seaver from Pittsfield. In 2014, the library was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Great Barrington has another library branch located at 231 Main Street.
Looking at the Library's Design
The Ramsdell Public Library is in Housatonic village. It sits between the Housatonic Congregational Church and the Corpus Christi Church on Main Street. The original part of the building, built in 1908, is about one-and-a-half stories tall. It is made of yellow brick with nice marble decorations.
Outside the Library
The front of the library has three main sections. The middle section sticks out a bit and has a pointed roof. This part has marble decorations on its corners. It also has a fancy top section with columns and a detailed border.
The main entrance has double doors with glass panels. These doors are set back a little and have marble trim around them. Above the doors, there's a half-round window. The windows on the first floor are rectangular. They have special stone tops that fan out. Small windows under the roof help light up the rooms on the half-story.
Inside the Library
When you walk inside, you'll find a tiled entry area. Stairs go up around the outer walls to a large meeting room upstairs. This room takes up most of the top floor.
From the entry, you go into a round central area. Reading rooms are on both sides of this area. The back of the library has shelves for books and a space for the librarians. Wooden columns, made to look like marble, stand next to the openings to these rooms. The walls are smooth, and the windows, doors, and fireplaces have oak wood trim.
Newer Sections
A newer section was added to the back of the building. This addition almost doubles the library's size. It extends behind the middle and left parts of the original building. This new space provides a bigger area for research, more book shelves, and a special workroom for the library staff.
The architects McLean & Wright designed this building. They later used a similar design for other libraries. These include the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library in Alstead, New Hampshire, and the Weeks Memorial Library in Lancaster, New Hampshire. The Ramsdell Public Library is a great example of Classical Revival architecture in the area.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
