{"nrhp_refnum":"08000469","name":"Cortland Free Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"32 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cortland","county":"Cortland County","state":"NY","lat":42.60167003600003,"lon":-76.17786868699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Georgian Revival library on a high basement at 32 Church Street, Cortland, New York, at the corner of Church and Court streets. Designed by architect Carl W. Clark, it opened in 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion A for its role in Cortland's early twentieth-century history and development, and under Criterion C as an early-twentieth-century library in the Georgian Revival style. It replaced a subscription-only library with a free public one. The building retains a high degree of its original character inside and out.","narrative":"Cortland Free Library is a Georgian Revival public library at the corner of Church and Court streets in Cortland, New York. Opened in May 1928, it was designed by local architect Carl W. Clark and modeled on the West Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library. The seven-bay building is faced in tan tapestry brick laid in Flemish bond above a stone basement, with a four-column stone portico marking the entrance. Inside, the main reading room is divided by Doric piers, and a rear wing holds a marble-and-brass staircase, a gallery and glass-floored book stacks. The library grew out of a subscription library whose charter was amended in 1925 to open it to everyone. Industrialist Charles Wickwire donated the site of the former courthouse, and a fund drive raised $110,000. The building is recognized for its role in Cortland's early twentieth-century development and as a well-preserved example of Georgian Revival library design.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"Carl W. Clark, architect","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a library. The original front staircase was replaced in 1976 with a smaller stair and a ramp, and the library board has expressed interest in restoring the original stair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:54.08245-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08000469.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000469/cc2b738873-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000469/cc2b738873-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cortland_Free_Library_Aug_09.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cortland_Free_Library_Aug_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317139","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortland_Free_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5173345"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cortland-county/cortland-free-library-08000469/"}