Howland Cultural Center
Encyclopedia
The Howland Cultural Center, also known as Howland Library, is the former public library building of Beacon
, New York
, USA. It is located on Main Street (NY 52 Business) in the city's downtown section, near Fishkill Creek
.
It was designed in 1872
by Richard Morris Hunt
, brother-in-law of Joseph Howland
, a Beacon resident who had served as a Union Army
officer in the Civil War
and, afterwards, as New York State Treasurer
. He was one of a committee of ten local benefactors who had joined to establish a library for their city, and commissioned Hunt for the job. It was one of the architect's earliest works; he would later design the base of the Statue of Liberty
as well as the Fifth Avenue facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
.
Hunt's building uses Norwegian architectural
and carpenter Gothic
elements. The roof features six gable
s and is tiled in Delaware
slate
; the walls are red Croton brick
interlaid with lighter Jersey brick. The foundation is made of bluestone
and granite
quarried
at nearby Breakneck Ridge
.
The interior of the building boasts a 34-foot (10 m) ceiling
supported by handwrought Georgia
pine
pillars, with a balcony
on the second story. Floors are of English cane felt overlaid with hemlock
, to dampen sound, and topped with strips of Georgia pine.
When the library opened, its 2,200-volume collection was available only to subscribers. Later the library opened to the general public, but by 1976 the collection needed more space and so the library moved down Main Street to the vacant Fishman Department Store building. The old library building is now in the hands of a private non-profit organization, the Howland Cultural Center, which presents art exhibitions and other cultural activities.
In 2007, the center announced that it would be installing geothermal heating
to cut its energy costs and reduce the use of fossil fuel
s. A system using water in vertical pipes to be dug 250 feet (76 m) into the earth beneath the center will both heat and cool the building.
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA. It is located on Main Street (NY 52 Business) in the city's downtown section, near Fishkill Creek
Fishkill Creek
Fishkill Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. At it is the second longest stream in the county, after Wappinger Creek. It rises in the town of Union Vale and flows generally southwest to a small estuary on the Hudson just south of Beacon. Part of...
.
It was designed in 1872
1872 in architecture
The year 1872 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* The Albert Memorial in London, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, is opened.-Awards:* Royal Gold Medal - Baron von Schmidt.* Grand Prix de Rome, architecture: ....
by Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, brother-in-law of Joseph Howland
Joseph Howland
Joseph Howland was an American Union Army general, politician and philanthropist.-Early life:...
, a Beacon resident who had served as a Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
officer in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and, afterwards, as New York State Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
. He was one of a committee of ten local benefactors who had joined to establish a library for their city, and commissioned Hunt for the job. It was one of the architect's earliest works; he would later design the base of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
as well as the Fifth Avenue facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
.
Hunt's building uses Norwegian architectural
Architecture of Norway
The architecture of Norway has evolved in response to changing economic conditions, technological advances, demographic fluctuations and cultural shifts...
and carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
elements. The roof features six gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s and is tiled in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
; the walls are red Croton brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
interlaid with lighter Jersey brick. The foundation is made of bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarried
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at nearby Breakneck Ridge
Breakneck Ridge
Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York, straddling the boundary between Dutchess and Putnam counties...
.
The interior of the building boasts a 34-foot (10 m) ceiling
Ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above....
supported by handwrought Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
pillars, with a balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
on the second story. Floors are of English cane felt overlaid with hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
, to dampen sound, and topped with strips of Georgia pine.
When the library opened, its 2,200-volume collection was available only to subscribers. Later the library opened to the general public, but by 1976 the collection needed more space and so the library moved down Main Street to the vacant Fishman Department Store building. The old library building is now in the hands of a private non-profit organization, the Howland Cultural Center, which presents art exhibitions and other cultural activities.
In 2007, the center announced that it would be installing geothermal heating
Geothermal heating
Geothermal heating is the direct use of geothermal energy for heating applications. Humans have taken advantage of geothermal heat this way since the Paleolithic era. Approximately seventy countries made direct use of a total of 270 PJ of geothermal heating in 2004...
to cut its energy costs and reduce the use of fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s. A system using water in vertical pipes to be dug 250 feet (76 m) into the earth beneath the center will both heat and cool the building.