{"nrhp_refnum":"92000430","name":"Eldredge Public Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"564 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chatham","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.681290328000046,"lon":-69.95846052799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-04-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half-story Romanesque Revival public library at 564 Main Street in Chatham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, built in 1896 to designs by Fall River architect Albion M. Marble.","why_significant":"The library was a gift to Chatham from native son and brewer Marcellus Eldredge, intended to improve educational opportunities in a declining Cape Cod town. It is the town's most important public building from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and its only fully developed Romanesque Revival example. It is also one of the finest examples of that style in Barnstable County.","narrative":"Built in 1896 at 564 Main Street, this red brick library in Chatham's central business district was designed by Fall River architect Albion M. Marble. It rests on a Quincy granite foundation and is trimmed with Longmeadow brownstone, with a slate roof topped by terra cotta cresting. Its asymmetrical form includes cross gables, a conical-roofed bay, eyebrow dormers and an entrance set within a large round arch. Inside, quartered oak wainscoting, original shelving, stained glass and a massive carved oak mantel survive. Marcellus Eldredge, a Chatham native who became a New Hampshire brewer, paid for the building so that local children and adults would have access to books he had lacked. Chatham's population was shrinking at the time, and the library became its most important public building of the era. It is the town's only fully developed Romanesque Revival building. A recent addition echoes the original's scale and materials while remaining distinguishable from it.","period_of_significance":"1896-1942","architect_builder":"Marble, Albion M.","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Has served as the town's main library since opening in July 1896; a rear wing from 1968 was being rebuilt and enlarged in 1991-1992. Its charter requires it to remain a library in perpetuity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.716062-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7940/63794031/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/92000430.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000430/312504c630-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000430/312504c630-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChathamMAlibrary.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChathamMAlibrary.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794031","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldredge_Public_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5354156"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/eldredge-public-library-92000430/"}