Welcome to the Pollard Memorial Library Architecture & Art Tour.

We invite you to visit all public areas of the building and view everything that is available in its glory.

The Lowell City Council passed a resolution providing for the building of a new City Hall in 1889. Almost immediately after that act and as a result of a petition by Lowell citizens, the Council authorized a second building to be located adjacent to this new City Hall, to be dedicated to the memory of the Lowell men who had lost their lives in the Civil War. This building would also be the site of the new library. The city hired Lowell-born architect Frederick W. Stickney to design Memorial Hall. During the ceremony to lay the cornerstone, Edward T. Russell, Commander of the B.F. Butler Post of the G.A.R., said the new building would be “a monument to the heroism of the past and a storehouse of knowledge for the future.” Memorial Hall opened in 1893 with the City Library in its basement.

Built of granite, the building was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style which was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for public and institutional buildings. Named for influential Boston architect H.H. Richardson, other architects like Frederick Stickney emulated his designs. The library is typical of the style with rough-faced, square stone work while the wide, rounded arches and deeply recessed door and window openings are characteristic of Richardsonian Romanesque buildings.

The interior was stunning with extensive woodwork, stained-glass and a magnificent chandelier with walls painted a “rich Pompeian red.” Memorial Hall was as a post for the Grand Army of the Republic. The treasured artifacts housed there included the coats worn by Privates Luther Ladd and Addison Whitney when they were killed during the Baltimore Riot, becoming the first two casualties of the Civil War.

A disastrous fire in 1915 left Memorial Hall a blackened ruin. The city began to rebuild immediately. Frederick W. Stickney, was hired back to plan the  reconstruction. The budget of $62,927 for the entire building did not permit the restoration of the elaborate coved ceiling, carved oak wainscoting, and chandelier of the original hall. Instead, a more modest, and modern, design was chosen.

The eight original leaded glass commemorative windows were reproduced, at a cost of $1,475. But instead of carved wood, the walls were stenciled and huge murals were installed. Marble and bronze memorial plaques were restored, adding the names of those Lowell men sacrificed in the Spanish-American War. The city purchased the three massive murals by the French-born artist Paul Philippoteaux for Memorial Hall. Two of the paintings depict early victories for General U.S. Grant (The Battle of Shiloh and The Battle of Fort Donelson) and a third shows Lee’s Surrender at Appomattox.

In the early 1990s, the future of the library was in doubt. Major repairs and upgrades were needed and some questioned whether the nineteenth century building was suitable for twenty-first century use. After much study and debate, the city of Lowell allocated $10 million for major renovations. The entire contents of the library were moved to rented space on Middle Street where it operated for the twenty-eight months of construction.

A combination of selective demolition and imaginative reuse transformed the library. Highlights of this 2002 renovation include the addition of a mezzanine level for more book storage, the creation of a ground floor handicap accessible entrance and a community room with a 75-person capacity also on the basement level. In fact, the entire ground floor was transformed from a basement-like feel to a comfortable, well-appointed young adult and children’s spaces. Memorial Hall, which had suffered from peeling paint and water leaks, was completely redone and became the new reference area.

If you’d like to get a granular view of the building on Memorial Hall and the Library, we highly recommend reviewing “The Story of the City Hall Commission Including the Exercises at the Laying of the Corner Stones and the Dedication of the City Hall and Memorial Hall.”

We also recommend reading Joe Orfant’s Blog post – The Lowell City Hall Architectural Design Competition of 1889.