{"nrhp_refnum":"88002369","name":"Hamburg Public Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"35 N. Third St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hamburg","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.555819805000056,"lon":-75.98416367099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A modest L-shaped, 1-1/2 story brick public library in Downtown Hamburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania, facing North Third Street. It is a Late Victorian building with Romanesque Revival character.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the library is a well preserved example of turn-of-the-century architecture and the first building in Berks County designed and built specifically as a public library. It is described as a high style building whose details borrow from several styles, and its interior is regarded as remarkably well preserved.","narrative":"Built in 1903-1904 on North Third Street in Hamburg, this L-shaped, brick library rises one and a half stories with a gabled west front, a square arched portico, and an octagonal turret. Andrew Carnegie gave $10,000 toward its construction after the County School Superintendent appealed to him in 1903, and the School Board provided the site beside the public school. Monroe M. Dreibilbis designed the building and Charles F. Seaman built it. The cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1903, and the library opened on November 5, 1904. Its interior includes an octagonal rotunda with eight freestanding oak columns, a coffered tin plate ceiling, and an inlaid checkerboard floor in the Reference Room. The library is regarded as the first building in Berks County designed specifically for public library use, and the building was long a symbol of the community's commitment to education.","period_of_significance":"1903-1904","architect_builder":"Monroe M. Dreibilbis (architect); Charles F. Seaman (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Romanesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"In use as a library; the building is described as in good to excellent condition, with aluminum siding covering the upper window sash and turret windows.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.735991-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88002369.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002369/767b9b52eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002369/767b9b52eb-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamburg_Public_Library_BerksCo_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:Hamburg_Public_Library_BerksCo_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995732","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_Public_Library_(Hamburg,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5644315"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/hamburg-public-library-88002369/"}