The Main Library

In the Beginning...

Citizens of Troy became interested in establishing a public library long before many cities of comparable size. Discussion concerning such a library actually began with a letter from an anonymous 'Citizen of Troy' in the November 13, 1799 Troy Northern Budget appealing for the establishment of a public library in order to "work out the salvation of, consummate the happiness of, and conduct to every door a correction of morals and a source of mental improvement" for the people of Troy. A collection of books became available for circulation, and a group of stockholders was formed in 1800. The library's search for a permanent home spans 96 years.

For many years the library moved to and from offices and homes of those who had been designated librarian. In 1820, when it was housed above the River Street Drug Store of that year's librarian, Ira Wells, 190 of its 687 volumes were destroyed by fire. By 1835, soon after the incorporation of the Troy Young Men's Association, the library and that organization joined forces in an effort to seek a more permanent location for a public library. In 1845, the Troy Library voted to disband and turn its property over to the Troy Young Men's Association. In 1846, the collection was moved to its first somewhat more permanent home in the Athenaeum Building, which the Young Men's Association rented from the Troy Savings Bank. Two other important events in the library's history took place during this period. In 1859, the first complete catalog of the Troy Young Men's Association was produced, listing 12,067 volumes. Several copies of this catalog still exist. In 1869, the library became a Federal Government Depository Library, a status it still maintains.

In 1877 another group, the Free Reading Room of Troy, was incorporated with the goal of providing library service to the citizens of Troy. Operating since 1874, it began at the Holly Tree Inn with the cooperation of its owner, but later moved to the basement of City Hall, then to a room in the Post Office. Trustees of the Free Reading Room wished to merge their small collection with that of the Young Men's Association and to make the entire stock available to Troy citizens at no charge. In 1879, the Young Men's Association and the Free Reading Room came together and agreed on what they called "The Public Library Enterprise." The Young Men's Association later purchased the Athenaeum Building, and in 1885 Troy had its first permanently housed public library.

The Hart Memorial Building

Funds to construct the Hart Memorial Building and the lot on which to build it were donated by Mary E. Hart to honor her late husband, William Howard Hart. Designed by the New York City architectural firm of J. Stewart Barney and Henry Otis Chapman Architects, the Hart Memorial Building, now known as the Troy Public Library, is a distinguished and early example of the American Renaissance style. When they came to design the Troy Public Library, Barney and Chapman were working in an emerging and exciting new style. This style evolved with the architectural success of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago which introduced the general public to what had been a more intellectual movement with a limited number of completed projects. Examples of the style prior to construction of the Troy Public Library include the Villard Houses (1886), The Low Library at Columbia University (1894) and the Boston Public Library (1887).

The Troy Public Library was conceived as a demonstration of the integration of art into architecture, and is truly indicative of the remarkable design and construction achieved by American society in the late 19th century, aptly called the American Renaissance. The library, in design and scale, is loosely based on Italian renaissance palaces. The principal facades (south and west) are white marble, probably from Vermont, which rich carving to emphasize important architectural elements. The north and east facades are brick, and since they were not to be seen in their urban context are rendered simply and with a minimum of decoration.

In addition to the elaborate carvings, the new building also featured an original Tiffany window which was designed by Frederick Wilson to portray Venetian scholar and master printer Aldus Manutius (1450 - 1515) at the height of his career. Aldus created an educational and commercial revolution by adapting the octavo format to secular texts, thereby generating the widespread circulation of inexpensive books. In this window scene, Aldus presents to his associates the proof sheets of an octavo edition of the Divine Comedy by Italy's greatest poet Dante Aligheri. In addition to the memorial inscription is a quotation of Isidore of Saville (upper right corner) which perhaps expresses Aldus' own philosophy of life: "Study as if you were to live forever and live as if you were to die tomorrow."

The desire for quality was not limited to antique artistic expression, but carried over to modern construction methods. The library is a "fire-proof" building with load bearing masonry walls and floor systems of low brick arches spanning between iron beams. This system of construction was first used at the Cooper Union School for Arts and Industry in New York City, and adapted for high-rise construction. The Troy Public Library was an expensive building, produced with the finest materials and the best construction techniques available.

The Past Century

The building opened on May 12, 1897 with appropriate ceremony and fanfare. Unfortunately, needed operating support did not match the grandeur of the new library. Mary E. hart presented the sum of $5,000 on the condition that if another $45,000 was raised, she would contribute an additional $5,000. The necessary funds were never raised and under the special conditions of the gift, the original $5,000 reverted to her estate. In 1903 the Trustees voted to change the name of the institution from the Hart Memorial Library to the Troy Public Library in hopes of attracting municipal funding. In 1904 the city of Troy appropriated $2,500 toward the operation of the library, all of which went to pay off a deficit.

By 1905, the library had made all the necessary changes to its book classification and circulation systems to qualify for a charter from the State Education Department allowing it to function as the public library for the City of Troy. In that same year, the Troy Children's Neighborhood Library, a separately established library that first opened in 1894, moved to the Hart Memorial Building, thus consolidating all independent libraries in Troy under one roof. The first children's story hour was subsequently held in 1906.

Branches of the Troy Public Library have long served the important function of bringing public library service into the neighborhoods. Between 1907 and 1914, several book delivery stations - the precursors of library branches - opened around Troy. The first appeared at the store of William Devenport at the corner of 17th Street and Second Avenue. Then came a station at Groom's Glass, 777 Burden Avenue, one at Stillman's Pharmacy on Pawling Avenue, one at Berger's Drug Store on Fifth Avenue, and finally one at Beman Park. In 1921, the East Side Branch Library opened at the back of a store on the corner of Pawling and Locust. By 1924, this branch was moved to School 16. In 1927 the Sycaway Branch opened in the newly built School 18 where it has been ever since. In 1939, the Lansingburgh Branch opened in rooms in the old Lansingburgh Academy building at 114th Street and Fourth Avenue where it is still located. In 1949 a branch library was opened in South Troy in School 12, but this branch was closed in 1970.

By the early 1970's, the Hart Memorial Building was beginning to show its age. After the discovery of a leaky roof in 1972, plans were made for a complete restoration of the building, both inside and out. Work was divided into three phases and included re-roofing, interior painting and exterior cleaning. As part of the added focus on the building, the Hart Memorial Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and in 1976 won the Beautification Awards Contest sponsored by the Greater Troy Chamber of Commerce.

Throughout its long history, adequate funding has been a chronic problem for the Troy Public Library. Contracts for service with the City of Troy and Rensselaer County have always been on an annual basis and must be renegotiated each year. In an effort to address this problem, the Library Board of Trustees elected to petition the state legislature to create a special library taxing district in the City of Troy for library service in 1990. While this home rule initiative passed the state legislature, it was defeated at the polls in the November, 1991 election.

The Troy Public Library celebrated its 100th Anniversary in the Hart Memorial Building in 1997. As the Trustees and Friends look forward to one hundred more years of service, the Troy Public Library remains a vital institution, committed to serving the diverse needs of the citizens of Troy.

The Lansingburgh Branch

The Lansingburgh Academy Building Background

On December 24, 1795, a group of prominent Lansingburgh residents petitioned the Regents of the State of New York for a charter, for the purpose of establishing a Seminary of Learning to be called The Lansingburgh Academy. They had erected a wooden building on the west side of the village green. This petition was signed by 27 persons. The charter was granted on February 20, 1796 and signed by John Jay. It contained the names of the first sixteen trustees.

The trustees selected as the first principal Rev. Chauncey Lee, a noted educator and the author of The American Accomptant. He invented the dollar sign and first used it in a textbook he had published in Lansingburgh.

By 1820 it was apparent that the first building was not large enough to serve the growing student body, so a second building of brick was built on the northwest corner of what is now known as Fourth Avenue and 114th Street (then called North Street.) It remains almost unchanged in appearance today. The building was constructed on two lots transferred to the trustees of the Academy by a deed dated May 02, 1820.

In the new building with its expanded facilities, The Lansingburgh Academy flourished for the next eighty years. The Academy offered such an advanced program of study that students were able to enter college as sophomores after graduating.

Many famous people were connected to the Academy. Rev. Samuel Blatchford, an early president, was later the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was the author of a noted Greek grammar, used at the Academy and in many colleges. Ebenezer D. Maltbie was in charge of the Academy when author Herman Melville graduated with a degree in surveying and engineering. Maltbie was the author of a popular book on zoology. And Chester A. Arthur, future president of the United States, taught a course in 'Elements of Law' when he resided in Lansingburgh.

In 1900 the trustees of the Academy leased the building with its equipment and a fine library for a period of ten years to the Lansingburgh Free School District No. 1, to be used as a high school. During this time, a 2,500 square foot addition was built on the back of the building. On May 27, 1911 the lease expired and the trustees sold the Academy building to the Lansingburgh School District. The district used it as a high school and later as a vocational school. It was used for elementary classes until 1975.

In 1975, the Lansingburgh Citizen's Council was given full access to the building by the school district. The Council soon put together a proposal for the rehabilitation and restoration of the old Lansingburgh Academy so it could be used as an expanded branch of the Troy Public Library, and as a neighborhood arts center. Also in 1975, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976, the Council, under the auspices of the City of Troy, was awarded a $350,000 grant for this project. Work included a new roof, complete interior and exterior painting, new doors, a handicapped access ramp, new heating and air conditioning systems and extensive interior construction work. The project was completed in 1980 and, after a brief stay at the Methodist Church, the library reopened in its new quarters.

Lansingburgh Branch of the Troy Public Library

The establishment of a branch library in Lansingburgh was due largely to the work of a citizens group called the Lansingburgh Library Association. The group felt the need for a library in Lansingburgh existed because of the difficulty residents had in getting to the main library downtown. As a result of the Association's efforts, in 1938 the Board of Education voted to give use of a small room in the former Lansingburgh Academy for a branch of the Troy Public Library, and to furnish the necessary heat, light and custodial service. It was necessary to appeal to the residents of the community to give books and financial aid to the library. The Lansingburgh Library Association was active in providing annual operating funds to the branch until the Association dissolved in 1947.

The branch library opened on June 15, 1939 in a room on the second floor of the vocational school. The new branch was staffed by a professional librarian and an assistant from the main library and contained about 500 volumes. After only five months, the collection had doubled in size and the library had to expand, so it moved from the second floor of the school to the first.

In 1940, there was a separation of adult and children's departments due to the heavy circulation. In 1952, the library was moved from the two front rooms to the rear of the building with the entrance on Fourth Avenue. In 1999, the Troy Public Library purchased the Lansingburgh Academy building from the Lansingburgh School District. In 2002, renovations were completed that nearly doubled the size of the branch. Today, the Lansingburgh Branch contains over 16,000 volumes, and continues to provide service to the citizens of Lansingburgh.