Massachusetts
Historical Commission Liberty Heights Library
|
FORM B - BUILDING
Massachusetts
Historical Commission
State
Archives Building
220
Morrissey Boulevard
Boston,
Massachusetts 02125
Assessor's
number: 7770-0508
USC}S Quad:
Springfield North
Area(s) Form Number: 4214
Town:
Springfield
Place (neighborhood
or village): Liberty
Heights
Address: 773 Liberty Street
Name: Liberty Branch Library
Present: library
Construction: 1930
Springfield Building Dept. Records
Form: Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder: M. H. Westhoff, Architect
Material: concrete block
Wall/Trim: ashlar stone, wood, copper
Roof: slate, copper
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures none
Major Alteration (with dates):
Entry door replaced, ca. 1980
|
|
|
|
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
This Colonial Revival style building,
constructed of ashlar stone, is one-and-a-half stories in height with a sidegabled
roof covered with slate and copper flashing. Rectangular in shape, it is five
bays wide and three bays deep. Typical of the Colonial Revival style is the
symmetrical facade, accentuated front entry, and decorative dentils along
the roof line. The west, or principle, elevation has a pedimented entry with
a cast stone surround and scroll-shaped cast stone brackets supporting the
pediment. Windows on the main facade are 12/12 doublehung sashes and windows
on the north and south elevations are 16-paned casements and 12/12 double-hung
sashes. All windows in the building have cast stone sills. There are arched
window openings on the north and south elevations, originally containing 12/12
sashes with arched fanlights above, which are now boarded up. The foundation
is concrete block and the exterior of the building is ashlar stone. An
unusual feature of this building are the twin end wall chimneys, a
feature of the Southern Colonial period, revived for a northern city.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:
The North Springfield area in which the Liberty
Branch Library,773 Liberty Street, 1930 (SPR) is located
is officially known asLiberty Heights, but among residents of
Springfield, it has long been called
"Hungry Hill". The origin of this name is unclear - one possible
explanation is the large amount of food from Springfield Grocery stores that
was delivered to the Hill's predominantly Irish families in the early 20`h century, hence the name, "Hungry Hill".
The Liberty Heights area remained rural well
into the 1880s. When theLiberty Street trolley line was established
in 1892, the neighborhood's development as a streetcar suburb began, and with
the construction of the Carew Street trolley line in 1921, accessibility
to the neighborhood increased again.
Liberty
Street is one of the major roadways
in the Liberty Heights neighborhood, running northeast
from Main Street, then northward to Chicopee. At one time, this street
was known as Emery Street and by 1868 it was renamed
Liberty Street. The southwestem end of
Liberty Street, close to Main Street, became an industrial area
located directly on the railroad line by 1851 and by 1870, the construction
of factories and warehouses had expanded northeastward to the intersection
with Armory Street. During that time, many
duplex and multifamily homes were built on Liberty Street close to the warehouses
and railroad tracks. Further to the north, past its intersection with Armory Street, Liberty Street was mostly residential, with increasing numbers of duplex and multi-family
homes being built in the 20' century. Small commercial areas were developed
at intersections with Armory Street and Carew Street.
The Liberty Branch Library is located close to the busy intersection of
Carew and Liberty Streets. It was constructed in 1930 on a parcel of land
purchased from Martin J. Brunton. Brunton,
who owned a house located on that site, moved that house to a site at 29 Kendall Street. The land was sold to the City of Springfield and turned over to the Springfield Library
Association.
The Liberty Heights section of Springfield developed rapidly in the first quarter of the
20"' century and
Library Association was eager to establish a larger library branch in the n neighborhood.
Previous to construction of the Liberty
Branch Library, a small local library branch was housed in the basement of nearby Liberty Methodist Church, 821
Liberty Street, 1922 (SPR). In 1929 this small lending library had
increased its book circulation from 17,502 volumes to 27,347 volumes and was
quickly outgrowing the space provided by the church. In 1930, Nathan D. Bill,
president of the Library Association, was quoted as saying that the site at 773
Liberty Street was "a 100 percent ideal
location because it will serve the neighborhood ideally and is a spot of
beauty." For more information on Nathan D. Bill and his civic leadership,
see the Gurdon Bill Park, 469 Liberty Street,
1916 (SPR) form.
The Liberty Branch Library was designed by architect Max H.
Westhoff of Chicopee, who also
designed a number of notable Colonial Revival homes in the Forest
Park neighborhood of Springfield.
The library was built by the W. W. Davis construction firm of Springfield
for $35,000.00. In the Liberty Heights
neighborhood, the Davis firm also
built the Glenwood School,
50 Morrison Terrace, 1930 (SPR) and the Liberty
School, 962
Carew Street, 1919 (SPR).
The Liberty Branch Library officially opened on May 15, 1931 with a collection of
over 2,000 volumes. On that first day, the library staff was "amazed at
the hundreds of children and adults that swarmed into the building" and by
the end of the day there were only about 200 volumes left on the shelves.
Within the first three days of the opening, 247 Liberty Heights residents who had
never before used any library in Springfield
had applied at that branch for library cards so that they might borrow books.
The Liberty Branch Library has served this neighborhood for 70 years and is
fondly regarded by members of the local community. There were large protests
when the library was closed in 1990 due to lack of funding and it was re-opened
a few years later. Today, the library is open two days a week and is a small,
but very busy, branch library.
O'Connell, James C. Hungry
Hill Neighborhood Walking Tour, Springfield,
1985: p.15. Located at
the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum (CVHM), Springfield, Massachusetts.
Richards, L.J. & Co. Atlas
of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts,
Springfield: 1894,1899, 1910, 1920. Sanbom Map Company, Map of Springfield,
Massachusetts: 1931.
Springfield Building Department Records.
Springfield
Library Scrapbook: Vol. 10, pp. 152, 153; Vol. l l, pp.46, 47. Located at CVHM.
Community: Springfield 773 Liberty
Street
Area(s) Form No. 4214
National
Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form
The Liberty Branch Library is eligible for the National
Register under criteria A and C. It represents the institutional development of
an early 20th century suburban neighborhood in Springfield
locally known as Hungry M. Until the late 19th century, this was a rural area
of Springfield, populated mainly by
descendants of early English settlers. As this area shifted from rural to a
suburban neighborhood, it was increasingly populated first by Irish and French
Canadian immigrants and later by other immigrant groups and second generation
families whose men were employed as skilled workers in Springfield's numerous
manufacturing industries. Liberty Heights'
development as a suburb was facilitated by the extension of local streetcar
lines and the neighborhood continued $o grow as the automobile became the
preferred mode of transportation. This library was constructed in 1930 $o serve the needs of this growing residential neighborhood.
This building is significant as an example of the, Colonial
Revival architectural style of the 1930s. It is a good example of the work of Springfield
architect M.H. Westhoff, who also designed a number of impressive Colonial
Revival style residences in the city. 'This library budding has local significance
and integrity of association,
workmanship feeling, design,
setting, and materials.
