Kingston City Library
Encyclopedia
The former Kingston City Library building is located on Broadway in the center of Kingston
, New York, United States. It is a brick Carnegie library
built in 1903 in the Classical Revival
architectural style
.
It served continuously as the city's library until 1974, when it was closed after a newer library was built in the city's Stockade District
. Since then it has been the property of the Kingston City School District, which has used it as the offices for the janitor
ial department at neighboring Kingston High School
. In 1995 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Starting in 2009, the library was renovated into an arts and technology center. On September 12, 2011, it was officially reopened as the Carnegie Learning Center used by Kingston High School and the community.
on the south side of Broadway, slightly raised from street level. Kingston Hospital is across the street, as is City Hall. Just to the east is Kingston High School
.
It is a one-and-a-half-story rectangular building of brown brick on a rough-cut bluestone
foundation
. A limestone
pediment
ed entry portal is located in the middle of the front. It is heavily decorated
with classical motifs. Two ionic
columns frame the recessed entrance. On the pediment itself is a book-and-flower frieze
. Limestone bands also go around the building at both the lower end of the brick and the top level of the fenestration
.
Both interior floors are 2700 square feet (250.8 m²). The lower floor has what was once a lecture hall with raised dais
, two study rooms, two bathrooms and a boiler room
. A staircase with a Craftsman
-style bannister
leads up to the main floor, where there are remnants of a cast iron
mezzanine
for book stacks. Leaded
pane glass partitions divide the rooms. Two fireplace surrounds remain at either end.
. It was housed in a room in City Hall, but within three years of the library's establishment it had already outgrown it. In 1902 the library's trustee
s wrote to Andrew Carnegie
, who had funded libraries all over the world, to see if he would consider providing them with the money to build a freestanding library.
His secretary wrote back. If the city of Kingston would commit itself to spending $3,000 a year ($ in contemporary dollars) to maintain the library, Carnegie would donate $30,000 ($740,000 in contemporary dollars) to build it. City Council accepted the offer and passed an ordinance establishing the required level of funding and accepting Carnegie's gift. Local steamboat magnate Samuel Coykendall donated the land, provided the trustees raise money for its purchase through subscription
. Ground was broken in 1903 and the new building was opened the next year.
It remained the city's library until 1974, when more space was needed and the current library on Franklin Street was built. After the library moved out, it became property of the school district. The interior was heavily modified to serve as classroom space, but that proved unworkable. It was used as the offices of the high school's custodial
services until renovations.
During that time the building was neglected, and the front entrance was fenced off from the sidewalk. In 2009 school district voters approved a $3.6 million proposal to rehabilitate
the library building into an arts and technology center. The building is now open to the Kingston City School District.
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, New York, United States. It is a brick Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
built in 1903 in the Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
.
It served continuously as the city's library until 1974, when it was closed after a newer library was built in the city's Stockade District
Kingston Stockade District
The Kingston Stockade District is an eight-block area in the western section of Kingston, New York, United States, commonly referred to as Uptown Kingston...
. Since then it has been the property of the Kingston City School District, which has used it as the offices for the janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
ial department at neighboring Kingston High School
Kingston High School (Kingston, New York)
Kingston High School is a comprehensive four-year school with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students and staff located on Broadway in Kingston, New York.-Campus layout:...
. In 1995 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Starting in 2009, the library was renovated into an arts and technology center. On September 12, 2011, it was officially reopened as the Carnegie Learning Center used by Kingston High School and the community.
Building
The library building sits on a 11250 square feet (1,045.2 m²) lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
on the south side of Broadway, slightly raised from street level. Kingston Hospital is across the street, as is City Hall. Just to the east is Kingston High School
Kingston High School (Kingston, New York)
Kingston High School is a comprehensive four-year school with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students and staff located on Broadway in Kingston, New York.-Campus layout:...
.
It is a one-and-a-half-story rectangular building of brown brick on a rough-cut 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...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. A limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed entry portal is located in the middle of the front. It is heavily decorated
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
with classical motifs. Two ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns frame the recessed entrance. On the pediment itself is a book-and-flower frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. Limestone bands also go around the building at both the lower end of the brick and the top level of the fenestration
Building envelope
The building envelope is the physical separator between the interior and the exterior environments of a building. Another emerging term is "Building Enclosure". It serves as the outer shell to help maintain the indoor environment and facilitate its climate control...
.
Both interior floors are 2700 square feet (250.8 m²). The lower floor has what was once a lecture hall with raised dais
Dais
Dais is any raised platform located either in or outside of a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....
, two study rooms, two bathrooms and a boiler room
Boiler room
* A boiler room is a room where a boiler is kept, it may also refer to:* Boiler room , building's mechanical room* Boiler room , ship's engine room...
. A staircase with a Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
-style bannister
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
leads up to the main floor, where there are remnants of a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
for book stacks. Leaded
Lead glass
Lead glass is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40 weight% lead oxide , while modern lead crystal, historically also known as flint glass due to the original silica source, contains a minimum of 24% PbO...
pane glass partitions divide the rooms. Two fireplace surrounds remain at either end.
History
Kingston established its first public library in 1899, a quarter-century after it had been formed from a merger of the previous villages of Kingston and RondoutRondout, New York
Rondout was a village located on the north side of Rondout Creek near its mouth on the Hudson River in Ulster County and includes the Rondout-West Strand Historic District....
. It was housed in a room in City Hall, but within three years of the library's establishment it had already outgrown it. In 1902 the library's trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
s wrote to Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, who had funded libraries all over the world, to see if he would consider providing them with the money to build a freestanding library.
His secretary wrote back. If the city of Kingston would commit itself to spending $3,000 a year ($ in contemporary dollars) to maintain the library, Carnegie would donate $30,000 ($740,000 in contemporary dollars) to build it. City Council accepted the offer and passed an ordinance establishing the required level of funding and accepting Carnegie's gift. Local steamboat magnate Samuel Coykendall donated the land, provided the trustees raise money for its purchase through subscription
Subscription business model
The subscription business model is a business model where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. The model was pioneered by magazines and newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and websites....
. Ground was broken in 1903 and the new building was opened the next year.
It remained the city's library until 1974, when more space was needed and the current library on Franklin Street was built. After the library moved out, it became property of the school district. The interior was heavily modified to serve as classroom space, but that proved unworkable. It was used as the offices of the high school's custodial
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
services until renovations.
During that time the building was neglected, and the front entrance was fenced off from the sidewalk. In 2009 school district voters approved a $3.6 million proposal to rehabilitate
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
the library building into an arts and technology center. The building is now open to the Kingston City School District.