{"nrhp_refnum":"80002628","name":"Flower, Roswell P., Memorial Library","other_names":["Flower Memorial Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"229 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Watertown","county":"Jefferson County","state":"NY","lat":43.973142979000045,"lon":-75.91034794999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-01-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, marble-faced brick public library at 229 Washington Street in Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, built in 1903 and topped by a central octagonal dome over a three-story rotunda.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of Beaux Arts Classicism in northern New York, with a sophisticated iconographic program that joins the decorative and fine arts. It was Watertown's first public library and a memorial to native son Roswell P. Flower. It also shows the spread of Beaux Arts style and the philanthropy of the city's upper class around 1900.","narrative":"Built in 1903 on Washington Street in Watertown, this marble-faced brick library was funded by Emma Flower Taylor as a memorial to her father, Roswell P. Flower, a New York governor and Jefferson County native. It was the city's first public library. The design came from an architectural competition won by Orchard, Lansing and Joralemon, with Watertown resident A. F. Lansing supervising. A recessed portico with paired Ionic columns fronts the building, and a central dome rises over a three-story rotunda. Charles R. Lamb designed the interior decoration, carried out by Ella Condie Lamb and Frederick Stymety Lamb, with murals, mosaics, carved texts and dome figures representing History, Romance, Religion and Science. Other artists added murals and friezes of local history. It was conceived as a people's palace with reading, meeting and conversation rooms. A large 1975 addition at the rear leaves the original portion's character intact. The library is recognized as a fine Beaux Arts civic building.","period_of_significance":"1900-1999","architect_builder":"Orchard, Lansing & Joralemon; A. F. Lansing, supervising architect","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Watertown and occupied, in good condition; a $1.2 million rear addition was begun in 1975.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.367311-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002628.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002628/5d9f398dc7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002628/5d9f398dc7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Stephen Schweitzer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roswell_P_Flower_Memorial.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Stephen Schweitzer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roswell_P_Flower_Memorial.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318234","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_P._Flower_Memorial_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7370120"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/jefferson-county/flower-roswell-p-memorial-library-80002628/"}