{"nrhp_refnum":"86003578","name":"Beaver, Thomas, Free Library and Danville YMCA","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. Market and Ferry Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Danville","county":"Montour County","state":"PA","lat":40.96020184100007,"lon":-76.60597882399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-01-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two attached 2½-story sandstone buildings with slate roofs, the Thomas Beaver Free Library and the Danville YMCA, at the northwest corner of East Market and Ferry Streets in Danville, Pennsylvania, in a Victorian residential neighborhood one block east of Mill Street. Constructed in 1886.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is an excellent example of Victorian Eclectic architecture influenced by Second Empire and Queen Anne design, and that it is the grandest library in the area. It is associated with Danville industrialist and philanthropist Thomas Beaver and with the Eastlake-style interiors, particularly the oak woodwork of the Library. It has served as the town library and recreation center since completion.","narrative":"Two attached sandstone buildings with slate roofs stand at the northwest corner of East Market and Ferry Streets in Danville, Pennsylvania, completed in 1886. The Library faces East Market Street with a three-story entrance tower, paired and tripled windows, pink granite columns and a carved oak interior. The YMCA lies behind it on Ferry Street, with a meeting room bay, a gymnasium and Eastlake-detailed meeting rooms. Architect Charles Wetzel designed both in a blend of Second Empire and Queen Anne styling, near the end of his career. Thomas Beaver, a local ironmaster and industrialist, financed the complex with land, furnishings, books and endowments of $100,000 for the Library and $50,000 for the YMCA. The Library's book room, with its dome-like ceiling, carved timbers and octagonal skylight, is regarded as its most distinctive space. The buildings are valued for their architectural quality, their largely original interiors, and their close link to Beaver's civic and religious commitments.","period_of_significance":"1886","architect_builder":"Charles Wetzel (architect); Archibald Voris (builder)","architectural_style":"Victorian Eclectic, Second Empire and Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Both buildings are described as in excellent condition with a high degree of integrity; the stone has some spalling at the alley/Ferry Street corner.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.900797-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/86003578.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003578/e94ea7d449-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003578/e94ea7d449-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Free_Library_Montour_Co_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Free_Library_Montour_Co_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995202","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beaver_Free_Library_and_Danville_YMCA","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7787507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montour-county/beaver-thomas-free-library-and-danville-ymca-86003578/"}