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Connecticut
APR
26
Library, Torrington, Connecticut
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APR
26
[LIB8036] The building that houses the Library today on Daycoeton Place was constructed in 1900 with funds donated by another highly influential and respected donor, Mr. Elisha Turner. At the dedication ceremony on September 11, 1901, Yale professor Bernadotte Perrin said, “A Library in a community is a fountain of ennobling influence. A memorial such as the one left by Mr. Turner will live forever and this community will have long memory for Lauren Wetmore and Elisha Turner.” [Website]
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APR
26
Public Library, Cheshire, Connecticut
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APR
26
[LIB8035] Undated postcard published by The Collotype Co., Elizabeth, N.J. and N.Y. Community support for the Cheshire Public Library began in 1888 when a group of concerned citizens gathered together to form the Village Improvement Society. After the Society met its initial goals, they turned their attention to the establishment of a library. In order to stock that first library, Mary Baldwin and her friend Mary Dickerman spent many hours collecting books. In 1892, a Library Association formed, with Mary Baldwin volunteering to serve as Librarian, a post she would hold for the next 29 years. The first Cheshire Public Library officially opened in one room, once a school building belonging to Dr. Horton on Horton Avenue. Two years later the Library moved to a house owned by Mary Baldwin’s father, presently known as the Belknap House. [Website]
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APR
22
1908 Library, Norfolk, Connecticut
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APR
22
[LIB8019] - Addressed to Mrs. M(inot). E. (Stella) Chatfield, New Haven, Connecticut. Postmarked New Haven and Waterbury. (Stella Stowe Russell). This building is still in use as a public library. Miss Isabella Eldridge established the Norfolk Library as a memorial to her parents, The Reverend Joseph and Sarah Battell Eldridge, and presented it to the town of Norfolk in 1889. Her hope was that it would be a meeting ground for the community rather than just an institution and it has maintained the character she gave it through all the years of its existence. It serves not only as a storehouse of reading for instruction and pleasure, but also as a meeting site for various clubs and groups.Mr. George Keller of Hartford was the architect for the building which first opened on March 6, 1889. At the time it was built, the structure went no farther than the north-south corridor of alcoves. The Great Hall, additional stacks, and the back alcove, also designed by Keller, were added
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APR
03
Library, Terryville, Connecticut
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APR
03
[LIB6011] The beginning of the Terryville Library dates back to 1839, during the Presidency of Martin Van Buren, when thirty citizens of the Town of Plymouth organized a private subscription library. The subscribers to the Terryville Lyceum Library were a roster of the leading citizens of the town: The clock maker Eli Terry, the local shop owners, John C. Lewis, Sereno Gaylord and William McKee; the Congregational Church Minister, Nathaniel Richardson and the brothers who owned the village store, Philo and John Lewis. The records of the Terryville Lyceum Library show that it flourished for twenty years. Shortly after the Civil War, interest dwindled. [Website]
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MAR
06
George Maxwell Memorial Library, Rockville, Connecticut
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MAR
06
[LIB7711] The history of the Rockville Public Library began in 1893 with the bequest of $10,000 from George Maxwell to the town for a free public library. Previously, private subscription library services, which charged a fee, existed in the area. The bequest was given with the provision that the town raise an equal amount in five years. In 1893 the Rockville Public Library was incorporated and the Rockville Public Library Association was organized. The town appropriated the matching $10,000 in 1895, and the following year the library opened in the Hartford Connecticut Trust Company building on Elm Street. The present building, constructed in 1904, was designed by Charles A. Platt of New York. It was a gift from Mr. Maxwell's wife and children after his death. In addition to the building, the gift included funding to maintain and operate the facility. The majority of the library's current operating budget continues to come from this source. The total cost for the lot, buildi
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FEB
28
Library, Quinnipiac College, Hamden, Connecticut
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FEB
28
[LIB7635] The library is named for Arnold Bernhard, the founder and former chief executive officer of Value Line, Inc., the world's largest investment advisory service. Bernhard's son, A. Van H. Bernhard of Southport, made the library renovation project possible by donating $1 million for the library project and an additional $3 million for the University's endowment in 1997. The donation was the largest in University history. [Website]
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FEB
14
Library, Windham, Connecticut
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FEB
14
[LIB7520] Connecticut’s smallest freestanding library established in 1897. The Windham Free Library had its beginnings in 1896, organized by a small number of citizens as a non-profit association library. The library is housed in a historical building, which was built in 1832 as a bank. In 1879 the Windham Bank moved its operations to Willimantic leaving the building here in Windham Center vacant. When Windham celebrated its Bi-centennial in 1892, the building, still vacant, was converted into a museum for the occasion. [Website]
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FEB
04
Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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FEB
04
[LIB7612] The Library contains a large and unique collection of rare medical books, medical journals to 1920, pamphlets, prints, and photographs, as well as current works on the history of medicine. The library was founded in 1940 by the donations of the extensive collections of Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, and Arnold C. Klebs. Special strengths are the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Vesalius, Boyle, Harvey, and S. Weir Mitchell, and works on anesthesia, and smallpox inoculation and vaccination. The Library owns over 300 medical incunabula. [Website]
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JAN
31
1959 Carlson Library, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut
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JAN
31
[LIB7463] The University Library had its beginning in 1927 in one room in Fairfield Hall, site of the newly-chartered Junior College of Connecticut. In 1947, when the Junior College was reconstituted as the University of Bridgeport, the Library was moved to the University’s seaside campus. In 1955, after a period at Fones Hall, the library at last occupied a home of its own in the newly-constructed Carlson Library. A new east wing was added in 1961. In 1972 groundbreaking took place for a new building and in 1974 staff and collections moved into the new Magnus Wahlstrom Library. [Wesbite]
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MAY
09
1940 Cragin Memorial Library, Colchester, Connecticut
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MAY
09
Cragin Library, Colchester CT Vintage by markomundoView more Cragin Postcards [LIB0111] - Original building, with addition, still used as a public library. Colchester Connecticut City Classic by cityshirtView other United states Mugs
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APR
17
1940 Library, Guilford, Connecticut
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APR
17
Library, Guilford, CT Vintage by markomundoShop for another postcard design from Zazzle [Z6643] - Guilford has provided library services to its community in some form since 1737, when a library company was formed along with Saybrook, Killingworth and Lyme. A public library was formed in North Guilford around 1760. From 1790 to 1797 the First Society Library was formed, succeeded by the Guilford Library which operated until 1815. This was in turn followed by the Union Library, whose collection, like its predecessors, was comprised mainly of religious books. Several other libraries were active, most notably the Guilford Free Library, erected in 1891 across from 121 Whitfield Street with funds donated by E.P. Dickie. [Read more at the Website]
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MAR
28
1942 Russell Library, Middletown, Connecticut
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MAR
28
[LIB6586] - "It is believed that the commendable examples given in the following report, of other towns of New England profusely contributing to such institutions, will stimulate our people to some action towards improving the resources of the Russell Library. This centennial year of our city is a fitting time for such a good work. If all of our citizens would contribute as they are able it is believed that the required sum would be readily raised." [Public support of the Free Public Library: A report made to the Trustees of the Russell Library, by G.F. Winchester, Librarian. Printed by order of the Trustees (Google eBook)] Middletown Connecticut by sepiatownMake your poster custom at zazzle.com
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MAR
28
1925 Ferguson Library, Stamford, Connecticut
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MAR
28
[LIB6582] - 1877 John Day Ferguson leaves a bequest of $10,000 to aid in the establishment of a public library on the condition that fellow citizens donate $25,000. [From the library website] Stamford, CT Panoramic Map - 1883 by lc_mapsMake your poster custom at zazzle.com
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MAR
15
Palmer Library, Connecticut College for Women, New London, Connecticut
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MAR
15
[LIB6304] - The Charles E. Shain Library, dedicated in 1976, replaced Palmer Library, the original library facility of Connecticut College. With over 100,000 square feet, an energy efficient design and an interior design that allows for relatively low-cost renovation, the Shain Library has served the college well for 30 years. Magnet - New London, Connecticut by gregoryolney2Browse more New london Magnets
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FEB
28
Public Library, Mystic, Connecticut
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FEB
28
[LIB6450] - In 1891, Captain Elihu Spicer of Mystic and Brooklyn, N.Y. announced that he planned to build a library on the corner of West Main and Elm Streets for the communities of Mystic and Noank. The building would be two stories with a library, complete with a book collection on the second floor, and a large public meeting room on the first floor. [Read more of the history of this library here]
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FEB
21
1912 Library, Norwalk, Connecticut
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FEB
21
[LIB6437] - Though Norwalk was second to South Norwalk in founding a public library it was the first to get a building from Carnegie funds. As its rental rooms were inadequate, in 1901 the library applied for a Carnegie grant. Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, a great supporter of public libraries, gave money for a library building to any town or city that would promise to continue funding the library at an annual rate equaling 10% of the building grant. The City agreed to provide funding, and Norwalk received a grant for $20,000. The size of the Carnegie grant was a function of the population served by the library. Norwalk and South Norwalk were both very small cities at the time, each having a population of about 10,000. [From the website]
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JAN
27
1946 Mary Cheney Library, Manchester, Connecticut
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JAN
27
[LIB6101] - 1937 South Manchester Free Public Library moves into a new building and is renamed Mary Cheney Library, located 'in Center Park' on Main Street. Money for the building is made possible from Cheney Brothers fund and Federal Public Works Administration funds. [Read more at the website]
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DEC
23
1954 E.C. Scranton Library, Madison, Connecticut
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DEC
23
[LIB5225] The inadequacies of this situation were resolved in 1900 when Miss Mary Eliza Scranton offered the Association the use of a new, completely furnished, library building which she had had built on the corner of Wall Street adjoining her family's old home. The offer was accepted, books moved in, and in 1901 the Association dissolved and the E. C. Scranton Memorial Library was incorporated. The building was designed by Henry Bacon, an eminent New York architect who later designed the Lincoln Memorial. A New York firm of "contracting designers" were in complete charge of the architecture, construction, decorations and furnishings, the total cost of which was about $30,000. [Read more at the Website]
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DEC
10
Memorial Library, Fairfield, Connecticut
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DEC
10
[Image Courtesy of Fairfield Public Library, DiBlasi Associates] [LIB6108] - On June 4, 1903, a new library building, situated on the corner of the Post Road and Old Post Road, was dedicated. This two-story colonial with three floors for stacks, was designed so that it could be added to gracefully, in future years. In 1950 the Library's operation was taken over by the town and the name was changed to Fairfield Public Library. Additions to the building were completed in 1930, 1959 and 1981. [Website]
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NOV
23
1912 The Public Library, New London, Connecticut
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NOV
23
[LIB4967] - A view from 1912 and a contemporary view [Historic Buildings of Connecticut]. The New London whaling merchant, Henry Philemon Haven, who died in 1876, left a bequest to be used for charitable purposes. His trustees used the funds to build a library, completed in 1892 and designed by the firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge (H.H. Richardson‘s successor firm). The architects sent George Warren Cole, who eventually established his own firm in the city, to New London to supervise three simultaneous projects: the Library, Williams Memorial Institute and Nathan Hale School. The Richardsonian Romanesque Public Library of New London building features a design similar to the libraries designed by Richardson and contrasts a Milford granite construction with brownstone trim. [Historic Buildings of Connecticut]
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NOV
16
E.C. Scranton Library, Madison, Connecticut
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NOV
16
[LIB4965] - The E.C. Scranton Memorial Library was a 1901 gift to the townspeople from Mary Scranton. The original building was designed by the architect Henry Bacon, who later designed the Lincoln Memorial. [Wikipedia]
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OCT
28
1907 Blackstone Library, Branford, Connecticut
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OCT
28
[LIB2741]
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OCT
06
1905 Public Library, Norwalk, Connecticut
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OCT
06
[LIB2557] - The Carnegie grant required the city to provide a suitable lot. Hubert E. Bishop, grandson of George G. Bishop, a leading Norwalk manufacturer, donated a lot for the purpose. The location, on the corner of Belden Ave. and Mott Ave., was ideally located, just to the west of Norwalk’s business district. Prominent English architects W. and G. Audsley were chosen to design the building. It was done in Tudor style with steep gabled roofs and leaded-glass windows. This was an unusual form for Carnegie libraries which were more often in Classic style. It was opened in April, 1903. [Read more at the Website] 1899 Norwalk CT Birds Eye View Panoramic Map by PaperTimeMachineBecome a art affiliate at zazzle.com
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AUG
19
Library, Ansonia, Connecticut
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AUG
19
[LIB4041] A direct descendent of the man who founded Ansonia wished to make a benefaction to the town. Caroline Phelps Stokes, granddaughter of Anson Greene Phelps, purchased a triangular site at the corner of South Cliff Street and Cottage Avenue. In 1891, she traveled from New York to supervise the construction of a building designed for her by architect George Keller. The Ansonia Library was an L-shaped structure of 70 by 82 feet, built with walls of Longmeadow freestone and a roof of unglazed red Spanish tiles. The foundation walls were constructed using wall stone from the Ansonia granite quarries. A square tower with a pyramidal roof was located at one corner of the building next to a large rounded, arched entrance. There is also a long row of high windows, grouped in threes. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, rests in the gable end of the roof above the entrance, ensconced in the usual foil with two lions at her feet. Heavy oak doors lead to the interior entra
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