{"nrhp_refnum":"80002594","name":"Case Memorial-Seymour Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"176 Genesee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Auburn","county":"Cayuga County","state":"NY","lat":42.928852101000075,"lon":-76.57137249999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-floor Beaux-Arts library building at 176 Genesee Street in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, built 1898-1903 to designs by Carrère and Hastings and still serving as the city's library.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a Beaux-Arts design by the noted New York firm of Carrère and Hastings. It is historically significant as an example of turn-of-the-century philanthropy to establish public libraries. It was given by Willard Erastus Case in memory of his parents for the Seymour Library Association.","narrative":"Seymour Library in Auburn, New York, is a small, square, one-story-fronted Beaux-Arts building of Flemish bond brick and limestone, set well back from Genesee Street behind a brick and granite wall with wrought-iron gates. Its facade carries the ornament: a modillion cornice, an in-antis portico, carved cartouches reading \"Case Memorial,\" and windows with quoins, keystones and garlands. Inside, three floors hold reading, work and stack rooms, with a lobby of cast plaster detail. Willard Erastus Case, a trustee of the Seymour Library Association, offered in 1896 to buy the site and build a new library named for his parents, provided it stayed open to the public. After a competition, the New York firm of Carrère and Hastings was chosen, and the library opened in 1903. Beardsley and Beardsley added two rear extensions in 1972. The building keeps its original floor plan and most of its furnishings, and it remains Auburn's only library.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Carrere & Hastings, original; Beardsley & Beardsley, 1972","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a library; described as in excellent condition and impeccably maintained, with 1972 rear additions and a gate and fence restored in 1978.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.485036-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002594.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002594/f4da5d3a0c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002594/f4da5d3a0c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from now in Binghamton, NY","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Case_Memorial-Seymour_Library_May_09.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from now in Binghamton, NY</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:Case_Memorial-Seymour_Library_May_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316691","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Memorial-Seymour_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5048317"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cayuga-county/case-memorial-seymour-library-80002594/"}