Adams Free Library, Adams, Massachusetts

While much of my focus in Pillars & Foundations had focused on places of worship and more recently, cemeteries, community cornerstones such as libraries has always been on my radar to feature. Undoubtedly the have an enormous impact on communities serving as fountains of knowledge and centers to organize activities that benefit the community they reside within.


On an early summer trip to western Massachusetts we stopped in Adams, wandered around the town center, and took time to visit the prominently located public library. It's yellow/tan bricks make it stand out as it looks down upon McKinley Square. A statue of William McKinley stands in the center of the square. McKinley was the 25th president of the United States until he was assassinated in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist who saw the action as a protest against social inequity. Theodore Roosevelt ascended to the presidency ushering in the modern Progressive era. McKinley's connection to Adams, MA, was that he laid the cornerstone of this library during a visit as president in 1897. McKinley oversaw a robust economy and was popular at the time of his assassination. 

Interestingly, I can't find information about the architect of the library from the obvious sites, however the Adams town hall website notes that it is in the Beaux Art style, and that it opened in 1899. Another great piece of information is a write up done in reference to a rededication of the library in 2015 following renovations.


The Adams Free Library website notes that the library was constructed as a Civil War memorial, and served as a meeting place for Civil War veterans. There is a rotating history display, and at the time of our visit there was an exhibit of a devastating flood and the impact to Adams.

The view from the front entrance of the library across the square is very picturesque. The backdrop of the red brick commercial buildings and old mills, accented by the green of the park, rotary, and mountains, create a stunning atmosphere in Adams.
 

 This reading room is gorgeous, the woodwork, the ceiling, the fireplace, even the cast iron steam radiators create such a grand, yet warm atmosphere.

I love the wrought iron accents at the end of the stacks.

Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links

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