{"nrhp_refnum":"71000554","name":"Oswego City Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"120 E. 2nd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oswego","county":"Oswego County","state":"NY","lat":43.456860591000066,"lon":-76.50649684099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick library building at 120 East Second Street in Oswego, Oswego County, New York, built in 1855-56 in the Castellated style. It was designed and built by Hewes and Rose of Syracuse, with funds given by Gerrit Smith.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest remaining public library building in New York State and a rare early library. It is also an excellent example of pre-Civil War romantic taste, with a full range of castellated or Norman details. The exterior is largely unaltered, and the building has served as a centre of the city's educational and cultural life.","narrative":"Perched on a hillside overlooking Lake Ontario, this brick library in Oswego was built in 1855-56 in the Castellated style. Gerrit Smith, a leading local citizen, gave $25,000 for the building and another $5,000 for books, and Hewes and Rose of Syracuse designed and built it. The east front has a central tower, corbelled side turrets, battlements and blank slits imitating medieval arrow openings, with round-arched windows and limestone trim over a shaley limestone foundation. Inside, a large reading room fills the main floor, while the top floor was left unfinished when costs ran over. Steel trusses were added in the 1930s to strengthen the structure. The nomination describes it as the oldest remaining public library building in New York State and notes that the exterior has survived without alteration. Adult classes for seamen, child care programs, two early church congregations and later the Oswego Art Guild all used the building, which still serves as a library.","period_of_significance":"1855-6","architect_builder":"Hewes and Rose of Syracuse","architectural_style":"Castellated (mid-19th century)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in generally good condition and still in use as a library; the third floor was never finished.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.784192-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/71000554.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000554/4e8066e88d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000554/4e8066e88d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Design Photographers (Paul L. and Sally L. Gordon)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oswego_City_Library,_East_Second_%26_East_Oneida_Streets,_Oswego_(Oswego_County,_New_York).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Design Photographers (Paul L. and Sally L. Gordon)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oswego_City_Library,_East_Second_%26_East_Oneida_Streets,_Oswego_(Oswego_County,_New_York).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320855","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswego_City_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7108223"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/oswego-county/oswego-city-library-71000554/"}