Friday, September 21, 2012

Public Library, Greenfield, Massachusetts

[LIB7013] The GPL is currently housed in the Leavitt-Hovey House which was designed by Asher Benjamin, the writer of the first architectural pattern book published in America. Built in 1797 for Atty. Jonathan Leavitt, it was later owned by George Hovey, a local area merchant. In 1907 the Town of Greenfield purchased the building for the purpose of renovating it to become a public library. While the exterior was preserved, the wings needed to be rebuilt. The library opened on January 11, 1909 with close to a thousand people in attendance. (Kellogg, History of Greenfield 1900 - 1929).

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