The Abbie Greenleaf Library is the public library in
Franconia, New Hampshire
Franconia is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,083 at the 2020 census. Set in the White Mountains, Franconia is home to the northern half of Franconia Notch State Park. Parts of the White Mountain Nat ...
. It is located at 439 Main St. in the center of the main village, in a
Jacobethan
The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...
building designed by
William H. McLean and built in 1912. The building was a gift to the town from Charles Greenleaf and named in honor of his wife. Greenleaf was owner of the
Profile House
The Profile House was a grand hotel in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the United States. Originally built in 1852 and opening for its first season in 1853, it was operated by several owners ...
, a major resort hotel in Franconia. The library had an addition designed by
Carter & Woodruff
John A. Carter (1924–2017) was an American architect in practice in Nashua, New Hampshire, from 1953 to 1995.
Life and career
John Avery Carter was born June 16, 1924, in Nashua to Eliot Avery Carter and Edith (Gardner) Carter."Carter, Jo ...
of
Nashua built in 1971. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2003.
[ and ]
Architecture
The Abbie Greenleaf Library is located on the north side of Franconia's Main Street, just east of its town hall. It is a single-story masonry structure, finished in yellow brick with gray sandstone trim. It has a red ceramic tile roof, which is adorned with a pair of eyebrow dormers and flanked by a pair of end chimneys. A gabled entrance pavilion projects at the center of the facade, the entrance recessed in an opening with a low-pitch gabled top, and framed by a shouldered cornice. Small windows flank either side of the entrance on the projection, and there are bands of three windows on the main facade on either side of the projection. The interior is richly appointed in mahogany woodwork, with marble wainscoting and terrazzo tile floors.[
The building was the first (and thus far only) purpose-built library building in the community. Its first library, a social lending library that charged a small fee, was founded in 1880 by summer residents, and this collection grew until it formed the basis for the town's free public library. It was originally housed in the town's general store, and was eventually moved to the local school, where the collection continued to grow. The present library building was built in 1912 to a design by William H. McLean of ]Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, paid for by Charles Greenleaf, proprietor of the Profile Hotel. Greenleaf made a further endowment bequest for the building's upkeep in his will, which was given to the town upon his death in 1924.[
]
See also
*
References
External links
Library web site
{{NRHP in Grafton County, New Hampshire
Library buildings completed in 1912
1912 establishments in New Hampshire
Libraries in Grafton County, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Grafton County, New Hampshire
Franconia, New Hampshire