The Struthers Library Building, also known as the Library Theatre, is a historic

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

building in

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest and the Cornp ...

, U.S. It was added to 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 1975.

History and architectural features

Built in 1883, this historic structure is a red brick building that consists of three sections and measures seventy-three feet wide by 162 feet deep. The front section is three stories high with a corner tower. The second floor housed a library and the third a meeting hall, which was originally used as the town's Masonic Temple. It has a marquee on the front elevation. Behind the front section is the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

and behind that is a three-story section with dressing rooms and stage. The auditorium was originally built as a Victorian

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

. The building was renovated in 1919 by the architectural firm of

Warren and Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm based in New York City, a partnership established about 1889 by Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles D. Wetmore (1866–1941). They had one of the most extensive practices of their time, and were e ...

. ''Note:'' This includes During the 1919 renovation, the auditorium was modified to make it suitable for movies and traveling

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

shows. This building was added to the

in 1975. In 1983, the auditorium underwent an extensive restoration, preserving the details of the 1919 renovation.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Theatres completed in 1883 Library buildings completed in 1883 Buildings and structures in Warren, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Warren County, Pennsylvania Warren and Wetmore buildings