{"nrhp_refnum":"07000680","name":"Wright Memorial Library","other_names":["Wright Building","Duxbury Free Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"147 St. George St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Duxbury","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":42.04884529700007,"lon":-70.67956252099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-07-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story brick public library at 147 St. George Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts, consisting of an Italian Renaissance Revival original building completed and dedicated in 1909, designed by Boston architect Joseph Everett Chandler, and a Modern rear addition built 1967-69.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the library as a well-preserved example of early 20th-century library design, with a classical temple-front portico and copper dome that follow national library trends. It also ties the building to Georgianna Wright, who funded it as a memorial to deceased family members, and to women's roles in founding town libraries. The Modern addition is described as respectful of the original building.","narrative":"Wright Memorial Library, at 147 St. George Street in Duxbury, is a single-story brick library on a .69-acre lawn site owned by the Town of Duxbury. The original building, designed by Boston architect Joseph Everett Chandler and dedicated in 1909, is a symmetrical Italian Renaissance Revival design with Colonial Revival elements. It has a central copper-covered dome, a pedimented portico with four Ionic columns, Flemish bond brick walls, limestone quoins and a coffered interior rotunda. A flat-roofed Modern addition from 1967-69 sits at the rear, linked through the original rear pavilion and matched to it in height, width and materials. The library was funded by Georgianna Wright and dedicated to deceased members of her family. Its design reflects the classical styles and temple-front entrances common in American town libraries of the period, and its history reflects the role women played in creating them. The building is now listed as vacant, though described as in generally good condition with historic integrity.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joseph Everett Chandler (Boston architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Italian Renaissance Revival with Colonial Revival elements; Modern Movement (addition)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Section 6 lists the current function as vacant/not in use; the building is described as generally in good condition and little altered apart from the addition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.585839-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7965/63796592/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/07000680.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000680/f162ef170d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000680/f162ef170d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Duxbury Rural &amp; Hist Soc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wright_Memorial_Library.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Duxbury Rural &amp;amp; Hist Soc</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wright_Memorial_Library.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796592","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Memorial_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8038227"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/wright-memorial-library-07000680/"}