USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Proceedings at the dedication of the building for the Public library of the city of Boston. January 1, 1858 > Part 9
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Immediately upon receiving this notice, the Trustees com- menced the removal of the volumes presented by Mr. Bates, from the house in Boylston place.
After these books, which number about twenty-five thou- sand volumes, and are valued at nearly forty-five thousand dollars, had been placed in the main hall, upon the invita- tion of the Trustees, the City Council visited the Library, for the purpose of examining this munificent donation.
The books stored in the Quincy school house, and a por- tion of those in Mason street, were next removed to the new building, to be placed upon the shelves prepared for them.
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APPENDIX.
The closing meeting of the Commissioners was held on Tuesday, the twenty-seventh day of April, at the residence of the President, No. 1 Pemberton square.
A committee, previously appointed for the purpose, re- ported that all claims against the Board, arising out of the erection and furnishing of the library building, had been adjusted and that the labors of the Commission might now be terminated.
The eighth and final report was then read by the Presi- dent, and the same was adopted and ordered to be signed by the Commissioners, and transmitted to the City Council by the Clerk : :
To the Honorable, the City Council: -
The Commissioners on the erection of a Building for the Public Library of the City of Boston, have the honor to submit their final report : -
The Commissioners have proceeded, during the last three months, to complete such arrangements, in regard to fixtures and furniture, as were necessarily postponed until after the public dedication of the library building on the first day of January last.
The building itself is finished, and has been, for some time past, in the exclusive custody of the Janitor appointed by the Trustees of the Library. The principal articles of furniture have been procured, and are already in the places for which they were designed. The contracts have all been discharged, and every bill has been paid. Under these circumstances, the undersigned are of opinion that the Commission may now be dissolved without detriment to the public interests.
An unexpended balance of two hundred and twenty-four dollars and six cents, of the original appropriation of two thousand dollars, made for the purpose of procuring a design for the building and for the incidental expenses connected with the commencement of the enterprise, has been handed to the City Auditor, with a statement of the account in detail.
Of the other appropriations, so liberally made by the City Govern- ment, for the prosecution of the work, no part has ever been drawn from the treasury, except for the payment of bills which have been duly exam-
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HISTORICAL FACTS.
ined and certificd at the time, and all of which remain on the files of the Auditor of Accounts, and are copied into the records of the Com- mission.
The Board have already, through their President, expressed an opinion that a suitable remuneration might well be made by the City Council to the faithful officer who was originally assigned as clerk to the Commission. The testimony to his services, borne publicly at the late dedication of the building, is too recent to require repetition on this occasion. The records of the Commission, containing the details of one hundred and sixty-two meetings of the Board, will be delivered up, at an early day, to those from whom he received his appointment, and will furnish the best evidence of his attention and fidelity.
The undersigned cannot conclude their final report, without a grate- ful acknowledgment of the confidence with which they have been honored by the City Council in the prosecution of the work committed to them, nor without a renewed expression of their earnest hope that the institution, in whose service they have been engaged, may fulfil the best hopes of its founders and friends.
ROBERT C. WINTHROP,
SAMUEL G. WARD, NATHANIEL B. SHURTLEFF, PELHAM BONNEY,
JOSEPH A. POND, WILLIAM PARKMAN,
Commissioners.
The absence of Mr. Everett at the South, prevented him from signing the foregoing report.
The following resolution was then offered by Mr. Pond:
Resolved, - By the Commissioners on the erection of a building for the Public Library, that this Board hereby tender to their President, the Honorable ROBERT C. WINTHROP, the cordial expression of their sense of the highly satisfactory manner in which he has fulfilled the duties of his office ; of his faithful and valuable services as a Commissioner ; and their sincere wishes for his prosperity and welfare.
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APPENDIX.
In offering the resolution, the mover briefly alluded to the agreeable relations which had existed, in the last three years, between the Commissioners, and, particularly, to the uniform kindness and courtesy which had marked the inter- course of the President with all the members of the Board. He desired, before dissolving their official connection, that the clerk should be directed to enter upon the records, a suitable expression of the sentiments of the Board, of their affectionate respect for the President, and of their wishes for his prosperity and welfare, both in public and private life.
The resolution having been adopted, the President, with evident emotion, returned his cordial acknowledgments to the Board, for so kind an expression of their satisfaction with the discharge of the duties which had been assigned to him. He was conscious, he said, that the labors of others had been not less onerous than his own, and he desired to offer to them all, his own best thanks for the fidelity and zeal with which they had cooperated with him in conducting the Commission to a successful close. It was among the most agreeable circumstances of the service which was now about to terminate, that it had brought him into fellowship with so many intelligent and estimable members of the City Council, who had served successively on the Board, and of whom the most responsible committees had so often been composed. He would not detain them with any ceremonious remarks, but begged each one of his associates to accept his sincere wishes, that the best blessings of Heaven might attend him in all his relations and pursuits.
The following resolution was offered by Mr. Bonney and adopted :
Resolved, - That the thanks of the Board be presented to Edward Capen, Esq., for his acceptable and faithful services as clerk to the Commission, during the whole period of its existence.
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The clerk was directed to prepare and deliver to the City Clerk the book of records and all papers belonging to the Board, and then the Commissioners adjourned, sine die.
The final report of the Commissioners was received by the City Council on the twenty-ninth of April, and was referred to the Committee on the Public Library, who subsequently reported, as follows : --
CITY OF BOSTON : In Common Council, May 13, 1858.
The Committee on the Public Library, to whom was referred the final report of the Commissioners on the erection of a Building for the same, would respectfully recommend, that the report be accepted.
As a slight acknowledgment of the zeal, industry and ability dis- played by the Commissioners, in the discharge of the duty devolved upon them, the Committee would further recommend the passage of the accompanying resolution.
For the Committee, SAMUEL HATCH, Chairman.
Resolved, - That the thanks of the City Council be, and they are hereby, presented to the gentlemen who have served as Commis- sioners on the ereetion of the Public Library Building, for the highly acceptable and successful manner in which they have fulfilled the trust committed to them; and also, for the very valuable and dis- tinguished services which they have gratuitously rendered in aid of an institution, which is an enduring monument of the enlightened liberality of our citizens in the cause of literature and free popular education, in the advantages of which, every class of the community may freely par- ticipate.
Passed unanimously : sent up for concurrence.
SAMUEL W. WALDRON, JR., President.
In Board of Aldermen, May 17, 1858. Read and coneurred.
JOSEPH M. WIGHTMAN, Chairman. Approved, May 18, 1858.
FREDERIC W. LINCOLN, JR., Mayor.
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APPENDIX.
At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, held on the seventeenth day of May, his Honor Mayor Lincoln pre- siding, Alderman Wightman submitted an order, which was adopted, instructing the Committee on Public Buildings " to place in one of the recesses prepared for such purposes in the vestibule .of the Public Library Building, a suitable tablet of stone or bronze, bearing " an inscription of the date of the laying of the corner-stone, and of the dedication of the building, together with the names of the Commis- sioners on the erection of the Library Building, of the Architect, etc. This order, on motion of Hon. NEWELL A. THOMPSON, was referred, by the Common Council, to the Committee on the Public Library, who were authorized to report a suitable inscription for the proposed tablet. In this reference, the Board of Aldermen subsequently con- curred.
THE LIBRARY ESTATE.
The land, upon which the Public Library Building has been erected, was purchased in four parcels. In the year 1853, the City Council bought a lot of land of Robert E. Apthorp, and, also, the adjoining estate, belonging to the heirs of Benjamin Wheeler. Additional land in the rear and upon the westerly side, was subsequently purchased, in order to afford an enlarged space in front of the building, and to secure increased facilities for the admission of light and air.
The first lot was purchased of Mr. Apthorp, and was bounded as follows: by a line running easterly on Boylston street, twenty-four feet and eight inches ; thence running south- erly, along house numbered thirty-seven, one hundred and thirty-seven feet and two inches ; thence westerly, ninety-one feet and two inches ; thence northerly, on the Wheeler estate, one hundred and thirty-seven feet. This lot contained three
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THE LIBRARY ESTATE.
thousand seven hundred and ninety and one half feet, and cost twenty-two thousand seven hundred and forty-three dollars. The deed of the same to the City of Boston is dated 12 October, 1853, and is recorded with Suffolk County Deeds, Lib. 653, Fol. 101.
The second purchase comprised what was commonly known as the " Wheeler estate." It was bounded northerly on Boylston street, seventy feet ; easterly on the land pur- chased of Apthorp, one hundred and thirty-seven feet ; south- erly on land since purchased of Apthorp, seventy feet ; and westerly on land since purchased of J. H. Wolcott, one hundred and thirty-seven feet. The cost of this land was fifty thousand dollars. The deeds of the heirs, William B. Fos- dick, Alice S. Wheeler, George P. and Mary Blake, and George P. Wheeler, to the City of Boston, bearing date 3 November, 1853, are entered with Suffolk Deeds, Lib. 654, Fols. 123, 124, 125.
The third lot was situated on Van Rensselaer place, in the rear of the two lots above described, and was purchased of Harrison O. Apthorp, of Northampton, and Robert E. Ap- thorp, of Boston. It contained seven thousand six hundred and sixty-two and one half square feet. Its boundaries are given as follows, viz : " Beginning at the southwest corner of the City Library lot, running easterly and bounded northerly, in the rear, one hundred and one feet and three inches, to the southeast corner of said lot; thence turning and running southerly and bounded easterly by land of Apthorp, seventy- eight feet and three inches, to a point on Van Rensselaer place, distant from Tremont street one hundred and fourteen feet ; thence turning and running westerly and bounded southerly by Van Rensselaer place, ninety-nine feet and two inches, to land of J. H. Wolcott; thence turning and running north- erly and bounded westerly by land of Wolcott, seventy-four feet and eight inches. The amount paid for this land was twenty-two thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven dollars
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APPENDIX.
and fifty cents. The deed, which bears date 24 July, 1855, is recorded with Suffolk Deeds, Lib. 684, Fol. 195.
The land last purchased contained two thousand three hundred and forty-one and three fourths feet. It was bought on the eighth of October, 1856, of J. Huntington Woleott, for the sum of eleven thousand seven hundred and ninety-six dollars and fifty cents. It is deseribed as " situated upon the southerly side of Boylston street and bounded northerly, twelve feet and seven and one half inches; westerly on land of Woleott, two hundred and eleven feet and five and three fourths inches ; southerly on Van Rensselaer place, nine feet and six inches ; easterly on land of the City of Boston, two hundred and twelve feet." The deed is recorded in Suffolk Registry of Deeds, Lib. 707, Fol. 299.
The old buildings upon the lots on Boylston street were ยท sold at publie auetion by SAMUEL HATCH, Esq., on the thirty- first of May, 1855. Those upon the rear lot were sold by the same auctioneer, on the seventh of April, 1856. The trees, shrubs, loam, ete., were removed under the direction of the Superintendent of the Common and Publie Squares.
With the premises purchased, the City acquired no right or means of draining into the common sewer, and the temporary occupants of the old stable on the rear lot being unwilling to grant any privileges, the Commissioners were obliged to pay damages, according to the following award : -
BOSTON, NOVEMBER 1, 1855. The subscriber finds that the Com- missioners should pay to Messrs. Healy & Spaulding the sum of three hundred dollars, for the privilege of draining over the estate now occu- pied by them for a stable.
G. M. DEXTER, Referee.
The entire lot measures, on Boylston street, one hundred and seven feet and three and three fifths inches ; on Van Rensse- laer place, one hundred and eight feet and eight inches ; on the
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING.
casterly side, two hundred and fifteen feet and six and seven eighths inches ; on the westerly sidc, two hundred and eleven feet and three fifths of an inch.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING.
EXTERIOR.
The building is rectangular, being eighty-two feet wide, and one hundred and sixteen feet long, exclusive of the towers at the rear corners, which are fourteen feet and six inches in length, and eighteen feet in width. The architecture is of the Roman Italian style. The foundation, upon which the walls rest, is composed of blocks of granite, about four fect in length, set and bedded in hydraulic cement. Upon these is laid a base course of hammercd granite, above which the exterior walls, excepting the front, are plain; being con- structed of the best quality of faced bricks, with dressings of Connecticut sandstone. The front of the basement is constructed of the best quality of Rockport granite, finely hammered. Two stories in height are seen from the front. In the first story in front arc four windows, with a door in the centre. The windows are circular-headed, capped with ornamental archivolts, supported on carved scroll brackets, and crowned with treble keystones. The doorway is also circular-headed, and its style ornate, having decply moulded and carved jambs, with a carved and vermiculated archi- trave, and with projecting canopies or hoods, supported on brackets and crowned with keystoncs, all of which arc ornately carved.
In the second story of the front arc three large windows and two conspicuous niches. The niches arc constructed of freestone, with heavy, projecting bases carved in foliage and finished with ornamented architraves. Between the first and second stories arc a rustic belt and a heavy, projecting bal-
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APPENDIX.
cony, enclosing the front windows of the main hall, and sup- ported upon carved scroll brackets. The corners or angles of the building are finished with heavy rustic work, the whole being surmounted with a rich Corinthian cornice.
The roof is constructed of iron, covered with copper. The lantern, by which the main hall is chiefly lighted, occu- pies the centre of the roof, and is forty feet wide, ninety feet long, and ten feet high. It is built of bricks and freestone, with a roof of iron, covered with copper.
The building is entirely fireproof. It is thoroughly ven- tilated through the vaultings of the walls, by openings at the bottom and top of each of the rooms.
The corner-stone is a massive hammered ashler of Con- necticut sandstone, weighing five tons, and is securely laid at the northeast corner of the foundation. In the lower face of the stone, within a cavity, is a box containing a silver plate, suitably inscribed, various city documents, coins, medals, photographs, etc. There is, also, in the same cavity, a leaden box containing a copy of each of the weekly and daily newspapers published in the city, seventy in number.
The front of the building recedes fifteen feet from the line of Boylston street, the intervening space being enclosed by a massive fence of Italian style, constructed of freestone and iron. On either side is a space for light and air, and in the rear is a large area, which has been filled, graded and prepared for flowering plants, ornamental shrubs, etc. These grounds are protected by an iron fence resting upon a gran- ite base.
From the top of the building a magnificent panoramic view can be obtained, embracing the whole of the city, the harbor, and the surrounding cities and towns.
INTERIOR-THE BASEMENT.
The basement, which is light and airy, is almost entirely below the grade of Boylston street. It is eleven feet high,
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Janitor's Rooms.
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Librarian's Room.
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Circulating Library Room, having a Gallery.
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Delivery Counter.
For Delivery of Books.
General Reading Room.
Special Reading Room.
Vestibule
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FIRST STORY.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING.
in the clear, to the spring of the groined arches, and con- tains six large and convenient rooms, which will be used for unpacking and storing books and newspapers, and for other conveniences of the library. The furnaces for warm- ing the apartments and the rooms for fuel are also in this portion of the building. The basement is approached from Van Rensselaer place, by doors in the towers. There is also an entrance on the easterly side of the building.
FIRST STORY.
The first story is twenty-one feet and six inches high. The floor is constructed with groined arches. This story con- tains five apartments, separated by brick partitions. They are designated as follows : - vestibule, general reading room, special reading room for ladies, room for conversation and the delivery of books, and room for the circulating library. A spacious entrance, through three sets of richly carved doors, leads to the vestibule, which, occupies the central portion of the front part of the building, and is twenty-two feet wide, forty-four feet deep, and twenty-two feet high. It con- tains the main staircase, which commences with two flights, each six feet wide, both leading to a platform at an elc- vation of ten feet, from which a single flight, ten feet wide, ascends to the main hall. In the original design of the Architect, which was altered by the Commissioners, the grand hall was directly accessible from the vestibule by slightly winding staircases, and the view from the entrance door to the main ceiling was unbroken.
The staircase is constructed of iron, laid on brick archcs and bedded in cement, in order to prevent the noise usually made in passing over iron stairs. The flooring of the vesti- bule is of encaustic tiles. The walls, to the height of the platform above mentioned, are plainly finished in block- work, and thence to the ceiling with Corinthian pilasters in scagliola and arched panels, formed with archivolts, sup-
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APPENDIX.
ported upon pilasters and imposts, the whole being crowned with a full, rich Corinthian cornice and entablature, support- ing an ornate ceiling, laid off in square panels, deeply sunk, relieved with heavily carved mouldings, pendent drops, etc.
The vestibule is lighted, in the evening, by two lanterns, with carved rosewood columns, standing upon newel posts of Italian marble.
The room for the delivery of books, which is also the conversation room, is entered from the vestibule, and occu- pies the central portion of the east side of the building. It- is thirty-four feet wide, fifty feet deep, and twelve feet high. This room forms a kind of inner vestibule, with delivery counters for the circulating library, and entrances to the general and ladies' reading rooms. It is finished in a plain manner. The floors and bases are marble, and the walls and ceiling are laid off in panel work.
The special reading room, for ladies, occupies the northi- east front corner of the building, and is twenty-seven feet wide, forty-four feet deep, and twenty-one feet and six inches high. It is intended to accommodate one hundred readers, having six circular tables, for books and papers, surrounding the elabo- rately ornamented iron columns which support the ceiling. The walls and ceiling are tastefully laid off in panel work, exquisitely tinted and gilded. The arrangements for lighting this room, as well as all the other rooms, are complete and ample.
The general reading room is in the northwest corner of the building. It is twenty-eight feet wide, seventy-eight feet long, and twenty-one feet and six inches high. It is finished and furnished in a style similar to the special reading room, having every needful accommodation, with water closet, etc. It will accommodate two hundred readers.
Almost all the walls, ceilings and finish throughout the building have been neatly tinted in encaustic colors, relieved with gold.
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PRINCIPAL FLOOR.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING.
The room for the circulating library occupies the remain- der of the first floor, being upon the south end of the build- ing. It is seventy-eight feet long, and thirty-four feet wide. It has shelves for forty thousand volumes, and will contain the books most frequently demanded for home use. It is plainly finished, with iron balconies and circular stairs, and is con- nected with the basement and upper parts of the building by an iron staircase in the east tower, and with the main hall by circular iron stairs. It may also be put in commu- nication with the main hall by means of the dumb-waiters, which connect the rooms on all the floors.
INTERMEDIATE STORY.
Beneath the principal story, and immediately over the delivery room, is an entresol, or half story, nine feet high, in the clear, and thirty-four feet square. It contains a work room, store rooms, etc., and is entered from the balconies of the circulating library room. A flight of circular stairs also connects it with the main hall above.
PRINCIPAL STORY.
The principal floor, and the floors of the alcoves in the large hall, as well as the basement floor, are constructed with iron girders and beams, with segmental brick arches turned between the beams.
The entire upper story is occupied by the large hall for the reference library. This hall is finished in the Roman Corinthian ornate style. It has a clear space of thirty-eight feet wide, ninety-two feet long, and fifty-eight feet high. This space is surrounded by three tiers of alcoves, thirty of which are arranged on each side. Each alcove is nine feet wide, fourteen feet deep, and twelve feet high, in the clear. On both ends of the hall are two corridors, to correspond in height with the alcoves.
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APPENDIX.
The partitions between the alcoves are faced with three quarters diameter, full, enriched Corinthian columns, stand- ing upon pedestals of the finest Italian marble, highly pol- ished. The columns, capitals, bases and pedestals, occupy nearly the height of the three stories of alcoves and support semi-circular arches, with rich archivolts, keystones, etc. These, in turn, support a full, rich Corinthian cornice, with- out an architrave, whereon rests the lantern. The lantern is finished with coved angles, having perpendicular, circular- headed windows, with arches intersecting the coved angles and separated by heavy ribs, supporting a deeply sunk dia- mond-panel ceiling, relieved with richly carved mouldings, pendent drops, etc.
The floor of the clear space is of marble, and that of the alcoves is of the best southern pine, bedded in cement, on brick arches. The alcoves will contain more than two hundred thousand volumes, but only those on the floor of the hall are now shelved for books. Each alcove, besides being lighted from the clear space, is also illuminated by a skylight, admitting direct light from the roof of the build- ing. As the alcoves are constructed, in the rear, in the form of a V, there are no dark corners. All the alcoves 'are enclosed by iron railings in front, and have openings for the frce passage, from one to another, of persons connected with the library. There are four flights of circular iron stairs connecting the several tiers of alcoves and galleries.
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