THE RICHARDSON BUILDING 1882Another view of the Thomas Crane Public Library.
Also known as the Richardson building, this is Quincy's original library building designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and funded by Albert Crane in honor of his father, Thomas Crane. The foundation is of Quincy granite, the upper structure of North Easton granite, and the trimming of Longmeadow brownstone. At the entrance there appears a seal of the City of Quincy, the date in Roman numerals (1881), and a crane in honor of the Crane family. The interior woodwork is of North Carolina pine. The "Old Philosopher" stained glass window in the front of the building was done by John LaFarge as a memorial to Thomas Crane and is considered a masterpiece of stained glass work. There are seven pieces of glass in the ear alone and a total of about a thousand pieces. At the left of the fireplace is another LaFarge window, "Angel at the Tomb," given in memory of Thomas Crane's son, Benjamin Franklin Crane. The quotation "And his leaf shall not wither" carved in wood.
Beyond the Richardson Building is the tower of Bethany Congregational Church, a Quincy-skyline landmark; four large gargoyles cast in concrete look down over the city.
2 comments:
Funny! My future mother in law commented on the gargoyles just the other day. I never thought of it before, but they're kind of creepy!
I think this looks very English. Near my home town (in Northamptonshire, England) there is a village also called Wollaston where my mum went to school.
Post a Comment