The Rockland Public Library is located at 80 Union Street in central

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State ...

. It is located in an architecturally distinguished building, built in 1903–04 with funding support from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

. The library was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1979 for its architecture. The library is one of the only libraries in Maine designated as a "Star Library" by Library Journal.

Architecture and history

The Rockland Public Library is located on the west side of Rockland's commercial downtown, at the western end of a parcel bounded by Union, White, and Beech Streets, with St. Peter's Episcopal Church next door to the south. Although it carries a Union Street address, it is separated from that street by a small park, and it has entrances facing the park and White Street. It is a single-story masonry structure, built out of cut granite, with a full basement and a cross-gabled roof configuration. It is roughly H-shaped, with the original 1903-04 building facing east, joined via a wide hyphen to a modern wing facing west. The original main block has Romanesque and Beaux Arts styling, including Doric columns flanking the recessed Union Street entrance, and an apsoidal southern reading area, its windows articulated by pilasters. The library was built in 1903-04, and was funded in part by a $20,000 grant from

. It is the city's only major example of Beaux Arts architecture, a style that is also uncommon in the state. It was designed by Maine native

George Clough George Albert Clough (May 27, 1843 – December 30, 1910) was an architect working in Boston in the late 19th-century. He designed the Suffolk County Courthouse in Pemberton Square, and numerous other buildings in the city and around New Engl ...

, then in partnership with Herbert Wardner. In July 1910, President

William Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

gave a speech to a large audience assembled on the library lawn. In 1915, the building was wired for electricity. In 1942, Maine composer

Carrie Burpee Shaw Mary Caroline (Carrie) Burpee Shaw (1850 - 1946) was an American composer, music educator, and pianist. She published her music under the name Carrie Burpee Shaw. Shaw was born in Rockland, Maine, to Mary Jane Partridge and Nathaniel Adams Burpee. ...

donated her music collection (over 100 books plus sheet music) to the Rockland Public Library.

References

External links

Rockland Public Library web site
{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1904 Public libraries in Maine Beaux-Arts architecture in Maine Libraries in Knox County, Maine

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People * Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Un ...

Buildings and structures in Rockland, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine Carnegie libraries in Maine Education in Rockland, Maine

Architecture and history

See also

References

External links