Hubbard Free Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hubbard Free Library is the public library serving Hallowell, Maine.[2] Built in 1879-80, it is the oldest library building in Maine built for that purpose.[3] It was designed by architect Alexander C. Currier to resemble an English country church.[3] Dedicated in 1880 as the Hallowell Library, it was renamed the Hubbard Free Library in 1894, after a $20,000 donation from philanthropist Thomas Hubbard.[4] The building is a contributing property in the Hallowell Historic District.
| Hubbard Free Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | 115 Second Street Hallowell, Maine, United States |
| Type | Public Library |
| Other information | |
| Website | http://www.hubbardfree.org |
Hallowell Historic District | |
| Coordinates | 44°17′9.28″N 69°47′29″W |
| Built | 1879-80, 1893-94, 1897-98 |
| Architect | Alexander C. Currier |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000076[1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 28, 1970 |
The Hallowell Social Library was instituted in 1843, by forty-three stockholders, who paid $20. When first established, the collection was inaccessible to the general public; only subscribers and members of their families were entitled to use the books.[5] The library became a public library five years later, and the use of the library to individuals of the public other than stockholders was available for $3 per year. This fee was reduced to $2 annually the following year, in 1848.[6]
The Friends group began a campaign to raise money for a permanent building in 1878, and in 1880 the building was dedicated.[7] The cost of the original library was $8,300, which included the land and building.[5] Alexander C. Currier donated his services, designing and supervising the construction of the original building.[8] The entire building is of Hallowell granite and was contributed by Joseph R. Bodwell, then-president of the Hallowell Granite Co. and later Governor of Maine.[9] The iron fret work that originally adorned the peaks of the building was donated by Prescott & Fuller Iron Foundry.[10]
In 1893, Thomas Hubbard, a Civil War Colonel, lawyer, railroad executive, financier, businessman and philanthropist, donated the funds for the construction of a free library. In March 1894, the new structure was complete and was renamed Hubbard Free Library.[11] The money was used to build an addition to the existing building, in the form of a cross-axial transept, in keeping with the original church design.[8]
A second addition was added in 1897, with $10,000 donated by Eliza Clark Lowell of Hallowell, a direct descendant of Deacon Pease Clark, who was the first settler in Hallowell.[12]
Interior, circa 1880.
Interior, 1971.
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