New England has so many good libraries and some, perhaps including Camden's and Concord's, rise to the top. One of the great libraries of New England is Branford, Connecticut's James Blackstone Memorial Library.
In the medium sized coastal town of Branford, it is an architectural outlier. The town has a long history, originally settled in 1638 (then called Totoket) as part of New Haven. It has gone through several transformations over almost four hundred years, including into a resort destination in the 1800s which ended around the time of the 1938 hurricane. Today it is known not only for its unique waterfront communities like Stony Creek, Pine Orchard, and Pawson Park, but unfortunately for the sheer number of condominiums. But in the middle of it all stands the grand James Blackstone Memorial Library.
I was taken there countless times as a child, but hadn't been back for almost twenty years. It was a different experience seeing it through my adult eyes - smaller, inevitably, but surprisingly more impressive.
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| All of the marble, white for the outside and pink for the inside, came from Tennessee. |
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| I was trying out two new items that I was recently sent. |
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| All libraries provide some of our best public spaces. I have stopped in many across New England for a wifi fix. |
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| The murals were painted by Oliver Dennett Grover.... |
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| ...as were the medallion portraits of famous authors Bryant, Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell and Stowe. |
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| Perhaps a space should have been reserved for Larry and Sergey. |
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| I am fairly certain that I performed on this stage in one of my far too many ballet recitals. (Pre-mauve-carpet.) And friends would go to hear Yale's Whiffenpoofs perform, in part due to the superb acoustics. |
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| The floor tiles were designed in Paris specifically for the library. |
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| Designed by Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman and completed in 1896, the library was paid for by Timothy Blackstone in honor of his father James who grew up in Branford, and was a Captain in the Connecticut Militia. |
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| The two bronze doors at the entrance were designed by William Fitzroy Smith and weigh 2.000 pounds each. |
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| One item I was sent is this newly designed Austin Jeffers Polished Leather and Waxed Canvas tote which was hand made several towns over in Essex, CT. Now I don't have to worry about the wax from my jackets rubbing off on my pocketbook. |
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| I was also sent these Bass Weejuns in red for Valentine's Day. |
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| The Branford Green |
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| The Town Hall |
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| Congregational Church Steeple |
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| ...And My Other Destination.... |
My father took these back in the early 1960s:
33 comments:
Just wondering if the former Pope would have chosen red loafers had he visited the Branford Library.
I'd rather spend the day in a library than anywhere else. Books are the best and dearest friends we'll ever have.
Oh dear, you've written about another one of my weaknesses - libraries. The one in Camden is on my "to see" list; this one will have to be added to it. What a wonderful place; it would be tempting to spend too many hours there.
The loafers are snazzy but wish Bass would make a spectator shoe in blue and white; not just black and white. What do you think of them?
Since you're such a big fan of the Bean ragg wool socks, you seem to either wear those or nothing. Obviously they are too thick for this kind of shoe but don't your feet get cold?
Love the sugaring and lambing pictures from last year.
Those murals and portraits are spectacular! I had no idea that Branford had such a great library, having never ventured beyond walking distance of the docks at Stony Creek. I'm fortunate to have had a similarly great, but much less grand, childhood library--the Mystic & Noank. It's a fantastic old 19th Century brick Victorian built, like pretty much all significant structures in the area, by a wealthy sea captain and merchant, filled with window seats, oil paintings, antiques, and some very strict volunteers. Libraries like these really are special.
Well, let's proceed with some bootlicking. Wonderful bag, it drew my attention immediately. Have to have one. Another great job of pics by Mr. Aldrich. Always good to give give credit to the stage crew. I wasn't too sure of the red Weejuns when I saw the ad for them previously. But seeing them on you changes my mind. They look great. Perhaps we have found the new Director of Photography for Bass as well. Great pics and post regarding the library. Thanks.
Beautiful photos! I have to admit that I was drooling as much over the shoes and the bag though ;)
Snazzy shoes, Dorothy.
You didn't get those shoes from a certain person who just stepped down from a lofty position..did you? Libraies are great places as are book stores, new and used, for me. Great photos as always.
Oh how I love libraries ! I could get lost in them for hours. When my children were in elementary school, rather than volunteer in their 3 individual classes, I opted to volunteer in the library. Great memories. Thank you for the photos of a beautiful library.
Keep repeating, over and over:
There's no place like home, there's no place like home . . .
What a stunning and beautiful library! Libraries are wonderful places! When my grandsons were very young, their first library bags had small zip pockets that were the perfect size for their library cards so they were never misplaced and always a available. I thought that was such a neat idea.
Of course, love the bag and shoes!
I've seen photos of this someplace. If I'm not mistaken the architect was S.S. Beman.
It is stupefying to think that SO many people---especially when they consider themselves only as "taxpayers"---forget the great impact that good solid architecture can have on a place. Public buildings in our era should look better than they do.
Branford's library is magnificent. I think that libraries, perhaps more than other types of buildings, should have this inspiring type of architecture.
What a beuatiful building + very nice photos. Thanks
Love the red Bass loafers! I think I need a pair!!
As a librarian, I am thrilled that you are featuring a great library on your blog. As a longtime proponent of prep style and admirer of your wardrobe choices, I am thrilled to see that I have these same shoes, only in navy. :-)
Gorgeous buildings!!! And I love those loafers...... A now-gone theatre in my hometown was loaded with that beautiful Tennessee pink marble inside. It's beautiful "in person." --Holly in PA
One of the things this beautiful library impessed me with was its appearance of cleanliness, both inside and out.
I am assuming the structure is granite, but I was stunned that it showed almost no signs of grittiness or atmospheric pollution. Also, no grafitti! What a sterling recommendation for Branford, that whatever hooligans may live there, they decided not to bring out their spray cans and deface what is an altogether stunning monument to great books and knowledge itself.
These pictures once again prove that photography can serve as an art form in the same ways that landscapes and portraits rendered in paint or pastels or even B & W charcoals do.
Once again, Muffy, well done!
I absolutely love libraries, and this one is an exceptionally beautiful example. I wish I were there right now.
I also LOVE those red Weejuns! I enjoy a shot of color in my clothes each day, and bright shoes are fun when the rest of the outfit is subdued.
@Paul Conners, You wrote that you are impressed with the appearance and cleanliness of the library, both inside and out and there’s no graffiti visible. Well, it’s okay if you are impressed as long as you are not also surprised by it. After all - news flash here - it’s located in a quaint New England town, not Trenton, Newark, Baltimore or even New Haven for that matter. I’d go into the reasons, but don’t want to diverge from Political Correctness here on the Daily Prep where graciousness is a virtue.
Muffy:
Sergey and Larry do indeed have their places in many murals to come and I hope it's a long time before we can speak of them in absentia.
Nice library. I admit to not having been in one in many, many years because I am a bibliophile and collect more books than my dwellings and pocketbook can sustain.
Take care,
A Reader.
Very nice building, and clearly lovingly maintained. However, I prefer the pillars on my hometown Shirehall in Hereford, England as the Branford Library pillars are far too narrow! Obviously this is an entirely objective and completely unbiased opinion... ;-)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianac37/6071457302/
...and in any event our own library has no pillars!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianac37/6065248320/in/photostream/
@Anonymous 9:01 - Thank you for providing the links. The buildings are indeed beautiful. Britain's architecture (and overall aesthetics for that matter)are inspiring.
@sara - I found the leather to be surprisingly soft and the fit somewhat generous because of it.
You are right about my socks! The only loafers that I wear are somewhat dressier, like all of my snaffle-bits, and I just don't like the look or feel of socks with them. My feet do not get cold but then again if I was going to be outside for a prolonged period of time I would wear something else.
NE does an amazing job maintaining public spaces. What a special building.
I thought of this blog yesterday. There was a woman in the grocery store parking lot wearing a quilted jacket and old boat shoes, with her hair in a chignon. The immaculate trunk of her car contained a tartan throw and two well used Bean totes. She also inexplicably was wearing velour pants, which kind of made me laugh. I guess that was the NY influence :)
I'm struck by some of the similarities here to the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, in a building completed in 1897 (almost exactly the same time as the Blackstone) -- the octogonal structure, the second level viewing area, the arrangement of the metal stacks. Beautiful buildings.
To me, here's what I notice: due to the prevalence of post-WW 2 modernism, the many beautiful details of the library REALLY pop out.
We need more eye candy in our architecture. Just imagine what our contemporary artists could concoct if they had such a commission!
I know libraries can be difficult for architects because of the need to protect books from light, while at the same time, light is needed for readers!
I particularly like the serious, non-pop art, murals.
Muffy:
Apropos of the subject:
Have you read of the controversy surrounding the proposed renovation of the NYPL in December's Vanity Fair?
Here's a link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/12/new-york-public-library-re-model-controversy
I haven't seen enough pictures to make up my mind ..
There was a time when America erected public buildings which were "inspiring", as you noted about another country's architecture, Muffy. The Memorial Library at Branford is one. Notice the humility of the donor and City officials at the time- a simple "Public Library" is inscribed on the frieze above the four columns of Ionic volutes which frame the entrance. Although your photos do not show the rear of the building, it seems there are four central wings that echo Palladio. And the hemicircle extensions are quite beautiful, as well as the Greek key and lotus/palmette designs on the tile floor. Even though built during the Gilded Age when Beaux Arts was the rage, yet Branford chose a conscious return to the ethics of the Republic in Greco-Roman architecture. Did I mention the brazier stands afire on the bronze doors? Nothing could be clearer- this edifice is a temple to books and learning without which the Republic would founder. Was it mere chance that the architect's first name was Solon, the Athenian reformer who sought to stem the decline of that city-state? Now there's a jump-off for a meditation on how Americans have reached for the sources of their civic values! How fortunate you are to see such a paean to American virtue. "I call architecture frozen music," Goethe wrote...and the Memorial Library in Branford sings "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean."
Paul Connors touched upon a subject my husband and I always discuss when visiting small towns and villages in New England. The public areas & buildings are always so clean and neat. We're oddly fascinated by the fact there are usually public restrooms available which are also the same way and usually open all year. It's funny how some things we should all take for granted - but can't and don't - make touring NE so enjoyable.
It's such a surreal experience to ride the train from DC to NY and then tour various places in NE. It's like inhabiting two different worlds.
Any pics from the ballet recitals?
The Branford library is absolutely beautiful, Muffy. It is nice to see such a stunning structure in a small coastal town. The Boston Public Library is another New England treasure ...with all of the wonderful works by John Singer Sargent and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
p.s. I bet you wore your LL Bean socks today!! ;)
I love the Weejuns!
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