Skene Memorial Library
Encyclopedia
The Skene Memorial Library is located on Main Street in Fleischmanns
, New York, United States. It is also used as the village hall. The frame
building, combining elements of the Queen Anne
and Shingle
architectural style
s, dates to the early 20th century. Its exterior incorporates aspects of local train station architecture.
It was built by the widow of prominent gynecologist Alexander Skene
, who summered in the area, and had founded the library several years before. In addition to her own contributions and contributions from villagers, she raised money from Andrew Carnegie
, making it one of the many Carnegie libraries
. Later it was deed
ed to the village. In 2001 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The library currently features a collection of books on the Catskills
and Hudson River
region among its 15,000 volumes.
on the north side of Main Street in Fleischmanns' small downtown. The neighborhood is a mix of commercial and residential buildings. Behind the lot is woodlands, rising slightly to a low hill behind a small parking lot. In front is a small lawn with stone monuments to local war veterans, and the sidewalk.
sided in wood shingles. Four narrow wood moldings
run around the eave, lintel, sill and water table
levels. The high hipped roofs
are shingled in asbestos with broad overhanging eaves supported by brackets
. Stone chimneys rise from the west side and the east rear.
At the center of the south (front) facade
is a porch supported by Doric
columns and a wooden balustrade topped by a wide frieze
and triglyph
with dentilled moldings. The words "SKENE MEMORIAL LIBRARY" are on the entablature
. Its overhang is also supported by narrow brackets. Three wide stone steps with iron railings climb up to it.
Above the porch is an octagonal tower with round-arched windows in alternating facets above the roofline. Its top stage has louver
ed vents in all but the front facet, which is sheltered by a gable
d hood with a small vergeboard. It is topped by a rounded roof with the same bracketed eaves.
All windows are in pairs, with a diamond pattern in the upper pane. A similar pattern is in the transoms
on the other two entrances, both on the north end of the rear. A modern wheelchair ramp
goes up to these from the parking lot.
where stairs provide access to the tower and cellar. From there doors open into the main reading room, rectangular with an elliptical arched ceiling. The original plaster walls have been covered in modern paneling; the original hardwood floors remain. Oak
and chestnut
molding trims the cornice, doors and windows.
Two piers separate the main reading room from a smaller one on the west. It was meant to be separated from the main room by partititions that could be pulled down from the piers, but these may not be operational. The west reading room's main feature is the large stone fireplace on the west wall, with a decorative stone arch in splayed stone and brick. It has a narrow wooden mantel
with a shelf supported by brackets and a 10 inches (254 mm) wooden overmantel with decorative carving.
East of the main reading room is a stage area. It is recessed behind a partition and reached by three sets of stairs. Both it and the west reading room have molded window and door treatments similar to the main reading room. They can also be found in the small reading room in the north wing. The other room there, the village clerk's office, has been completely redone and has none of its original finishings.
and the completion of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad
. The Fleischmanns area became the summer residence of a number of celebrities of the era, such as baking magnate Charles Louis Fleischmann, for whom it would later be renamed, conductor Anton Seidl
, opera singer Amelita Galli-Curci
, and Alexander Skene
.
The latter, a Scottish emigrant
, was a pioneering gynecologist who founded the American Gynecological Society and for whom Skene's gland
is named. He and his wife, Belgian-born Annette Wilhelmine Lillian Van der Wegen, built Bonnie Em, a Scottish-style castle, as their summer home on the slopes of Belleayre Mountain in nearby Highmount.
In the 1890s, Annette Skene had been trying to get the community to organize a public library
, offering to start it with a donation of 500 books from her own library. In 1896, after two years of her entreaties, a library association was formed. Two residents donated the present site in 1901. Initially, funding for a library building came from subscription
fees paid by Fleischmanns residents. Mrs. Skene also wrote to Andrew Carnegie
, who was offering to finance what came to be called Carnegie libraries
in English-speaking countries at the time, in gratitude for the role libraries had played in his life. He contributed $5,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) on the usual condition that the community building the library pledge a tenth of that amount annually for maintenance and support. Fleischmanns was able to raise double that amount, and began the collection with 875 books, including Mrs. Skene's original donation. The builder, Crosby Kelly, was another local resident and subscriber.
The library was opened late in 1901, named in memory of Alexander Skene, who had died the previous year. At that time, Carnegie funded libraries without any review of the plans for the proposed building, and New York architects Henry and Marshall Emery, summer residents who had also been among the subscribers, had a free hand. Most of their work is in the Rockland County
village of Nyack
, where Henry Emery, moved the practice after his brother's death in 1921, and Albany and New York City.
The Skene library is not as high in style as the Emerys' other known work and seems to have been designed more to blend in with other local architecture. It combines the Queen Anne
and Shingle
styles
, both popular for resorts and cottages in the 1890s. Features such as the overhanging roof, eaves and shingle
d siding
also suggest the railroad stations in the area.
Marshall Emery and Annette Skene married, and continued to support the library for several years, donating a heater in 1905. The year before, the association's minutes reflect a donation of $130 from the local Ladies Aid Society to hold a fair
, which continued for many years. Performances were given on the stage, many using a grand piano that has since been lost. One local resident recalls seeing her first film, a Tom Mix
western, at the library.
In 1928 it was deeded to the village for use as a municipal building. It continues in both roles today. There have been no significant changes associated with this use other than the remodeling of one of the rear rooms to serve as the clerk's office.
Fleischmanns, New York
Fleischmanns is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 351 at the 2000 census. Fleischmanns is in the town of Middletown.- History :Early settlers of this area came from Germany, England, Holland and Ireland...
, New York, United States. It is also used as the village hall. The frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
building, combining elements of the Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
and Shingle
Shingle Style architecture
The Shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture....
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...
s, dates to the early 20th century. Its exterior incorporates aspects of local train station architecture.
It was built by the widow of prominent gynecologist Alexander Skene
Alexander Skene
Alexander Johnston Chalmers Skene was a British gynaecologist who described what became known as the Skene's glands.-Biography:...
, who summered in the area, and had founded the library several years before. In addition to her own contributions and contributions from villagers, she raised money from 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...
, making it one of the many Carnegie libraries
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...
. Later it was deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
ed to the village. In 2001 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...
. The library currently features a collection of books on the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
and Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
region among its 15,000 volumes.
Building
The library is on an 0.9 acres (3,642.2 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 north side of Main Street in Fleischmanns' small downtown. The neighborhood is a mix of commercial and residential buildings. Behind the lot is woodlands, rising slightly to a low hill behind a small parking lot. In front is a small lawn with stone monuments to local war veterans, and the sidewalk.
Exterior
The building itself is an L-shaped one-story structure on a stone foundationFoundation (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:...
sided in wood shingles. Four narrow wood moldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
run around the eave, lintel, sill and water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
levels. The high hipped roofs
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
are shingled in asbestos with broad overhanging eaves supported by brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
. Stone chimneys rise from the west side and the east rear.
At the center of the south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is a porch supported by Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns and a wooden balustrade topped by a wide 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...
and triglyph
Triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one. The square recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric...
with dentilled moldings. The words "SKENE MEMORIAL LIBRARY" are on the entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
. Its overhang is also supported by narrow brackets. Three wide stone steps with iron railings climb up to it.
Above the porch is an octagonal tower with round-arched windows in alternating facets above the roofline. Its top stage has louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed vents in all but the front facet, which is sheltered by a 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...
d hood with a small vergeboard. It is topped by a rounded roof with the same bracketed eaves.
All windows are in pairs, with a diamond pattern in the upper pane. A similar pattern is in the transoms
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
on the other two entrances, both on the north end of the rear. A modern wheelchair ramp
Wheelchair ramp
A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building....
goes up to these from the parking lot.
Interior
The double wood and glass doors at the main entrance lead into a small vestibuleVestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
where stairs provide access to the tower and cellar. From there doors open into the main reading room, rectangular with an elliptical arched ceiling. The original plaster walls have been covered in modern paneling; the original hardwood floors remain. Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and chestnut
American Chestnut
The American Chestnut is a large, deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. Before the species was devastated by the chestnut blight, a fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range...
molding trims the cornice, doors and windows.
Two piers separate the main reading room from a smaller one on the west. It was meant to be separated from the main room by partititions that could be pulled down from the piers, but these may not be operational. The west reading room's main feature is the large stone fireplace on the west wall, with a decorative stone arch in splayed stone and brick. It has a narrow wooden mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
with a shelf supported by brackets and a 10 inches (254 mm) wooden overmantel with decorative carving.
East of the main reading room is a stage area. It is recessed behind a partition and reached by three sets of stairs. Both it and the west reading room have molded window and door treatments similar to the main reading room. They can also be found in the small reading room in the north wing. The other room there, the village clerk's office, has been completely redone and has none of its original finishings.
History
In the late 19th century, the economy of the Catskills had shifted from forest-product industries to resorts, with the establishment of the state Forest PreserveForest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
and the completion of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad Company was a Class I railroad located in New York State, headquartered in Rondout and founded in 1866. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route To the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D ran from Kingston Point, on the Hudson River,...
. The Fleischmanns area became the summer residence of a number of celebrities of the era, such as baking magnate Charles Louis Fleischmann, for whom it would later be renamed, conductor Anton Seidl
Anton Seidl
Anton Seidl was a Hungarian conductor.-Biography:He was born at Pest, Hungary. He began the study of music at a very early age, and when only seven years old could pick out at the piano melodies which he had heard at the theatre...
, opera singer Amelita Galli-Curci
Amelita Galli-Curci
Amelita Galli-Curci was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the best-known coloratura singers of the early 20th century with her gramophone records selling in large numbers.-Early life:...
, and Alexander Skene
Alexander Skene
Alexander Johnston Chalmers Skene was a British gynaecologist who described what became known as the Skene's glands.-Biography:...
.
Scottish American
Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scots-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
, was a pioneering gynecologist who founded the American Gynecological Society and for whom Skene's gland
Skene's gland
In human anatomy , the Skene's glands are glands located on the anterior wall of the vagina, around the lower end of the urethra. They drain into the urethra and near the urethral opening and may be near or a part of the G-Spot...
is named. He and his wife, Belgian-born Annette Wilhelmine Lillian Van der Wegen, built Bonnie Em, a Scottish-style castle, as their summer home on the slopes of Belleayre Mountain in nearby Highmount.
In the 1890s, Annette Skene had been trying to get the community to organize a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
, offering to start it with a donation of 500 books from her own library. In 1896, after two years of her entreaties, a library association was formed. Two residents donated the present site in 1901. Initially, funding for a library building came from 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....
fees paid by Fleischmanns residents. Mrs. Skene also 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 was offering to finance what came to be called Carnegie libraries
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...
in English-speaking countries at the time, in gratitude for the role libraries had played in his life. He contributed $5,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) on the usual condition that the community building the library pledge a tenth of that amount annually for maintenance and support. Fleischmanns was able to raise double that amount, and began the collection with 875 books, including Mrs. Skene's original donation. The builder, Crosby Kelly, was another local resident and subscriber.
The library was opened late in 1901, named in memory of Alexander Skene, who had died the previous year. At that time, Carnegie funded libraries without any review of the plans for the proposed building, and New York architects Henry and Marshall Emery, summer residents who had also been among the subscribers, had a free hand. Most of their work is in the Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
village of Nyack
Nyack, New York
Nyack is a village in the towns of Orangetown and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of South Nyack; east of Central Nyack; south of Upper Nyack and west of the Hudson River, approximately 19 miles north of the Manhattan boundary, it is an inner suburb of New...
, where Henry Emery, moved the practice after his brother's death in 1921, and Albany and New York City.
The Skene library is not as high in style as the Emerys' other known work and seems to have been designed more to blend in with other local architecture. It combines the Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
and Shingle
Shingle Style architecture
The Shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture....
styles
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...
, both popular for resorts and cottages in the 1890s. Features such as the overhanging roof, eaves and shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
d siding
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
also suggest the railroad stations in the area.
Marshall Emery and Annette Skene married, and continued to support the library for several years, donating a heater in 1905. The year before, the association's minutes reflect a donation of $130 from the local Ladies Aid Society to hold a fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
, which continued for many years. Performances were given on the stage, many using a grand piano that has since been lost. One local resident recalls seeing her first film, a Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
western, at the library.
In 1928 it was deeded to the village for use as a municipal building. It continues in both roles today. There have been no significant changes associated with this use other than the remodeling of one of the rear rooms to serve as the clerk's office.
See also
- List of Carnegie libraries in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Delaware County, New York