Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library

The 1904 dedication brochure is available on the library web site:
https://www.flowermemoriallibrary.org/sites/flowermemoriallibrary.org/files/libraryhistory.pdf

A virtual tour of the library is available at:
https://www.flowermemoriallibrary.org/sites/flowermemoriallibrary.org/files/tour/tour.html

LOCATION:
229 Washington Street

DATE:
Dedicated on November 10, 1904

ARCHITECT:
Addison F. Lansing.

NARRATIVE
The Flower Memorial Library, called the most beautiful small library in the United States when it was dedicated in 1904, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Design and construction was funded by Mrs. Emma Flower Taylor in memory of her father, Governor of New York State, Roswell Pettibone Flower.
Much of the interior was designed by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
The rotunda features zodiac signs inlaid in the marble floor while on the dome presents figures of history, romance, religion, and science paired with fables, drama, lyric and epic poetry. The inscription under the dome reads “To know wisdom and instruction: to perceive the words of understanding.”