Troy Public Library

The Troy Public library is the main public library building in the city of Troy, New York, and is located across the street from Russell Sage College in downtown Troy. Currently, the library has one other location, the Lansingburgh branch, which had been temporarily closed in 2009 due to budget concerns. The Sycaway branch was also temporarily closed in January 2009 but has been closed permanently since 2011.[2] The first library began in 1799. The current building was completed in 1897 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both in its own right and as a contributing property to the Central Troy Historic District.

Interior of the library
Troy Public Library
Established1799-1800
Location100 Second Street, Troy, New York 12180
Coordinates42°43′40.5″N 73°41′31.1″W
Branches3
Other information
Budget$800,000
Websitehttp://www.thetroylibrary.org
Map
Troy Public Library
Location100 2nd St.,
Troy, New York
Coordinates42°43′40.5″N 73°41′31.1″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1896
Architectural styleItalian Renaissance
NRHP reference No.73001258[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 17, 1973

Funds to construct the downtown library, the Hart Memorial Building, were donated by Mary E. Hart to honor her late husband, William Howard Hart. Designed by the New York City architectural firm of Barney and Chapman, the library is an example of the American Renaissance style, which had evolved with the success of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Other examples of the style include the Villard Houses (1886), The Low Library at Columbia University (1894) and the Boston Public Library (1887).[3]

Exterior Description
Rendering of the Library, 1894

The exterior west and south walls of the Troy Public Library are constructed of white Vermont marble. The walls are rusticated on the first story, and are contrasted with dressed stones, Ashler Masonry, on the upper story. The facades are articulated carved stone courses, water table, and cornice. The ornament surrounding the three windows on the Second Street side are highly detailed. The Ferry Street side of the building is a five bay loggia at the second story level. This building is topped by a stone parapet, with a balustrade over the entrance.[4] The building was described in the 1972, as "one of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance style in this country".[5] The building also boasts a tiffany glass window depicting the Venetian scholar and printer Aldus Manutius.[6]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Troy's Sycaway library branch to close in cost-cutting move". Times Union. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  3. "Troy Public Library". Archiplanet. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  4. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form". Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  5. McKee, Harley (1972). "Report on Proposed Historic Districts in Troy, NY". Report.
  6. Troy Public Library. Tiffany Windows in Troy.
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