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| Photo from berkshiresweekly.com |
When the old Lenox Courthouse was purchased for, and then donated to, the Lenox Library Association in 1874, it was twice the size they needed. Not wanting to look a gift horse (or Adeline Schermerhorn) in the mouth, the Library moved into the Grand Jury Room and the Office of the Clerk (see yesterday’s entry). Roomates to fill the large, open courtroom were the next items on the list.
After taking out the judge’s bench, the old court room made a great theater for local performances, an excellent lecture hall and convenient place for balls and community dances.
After taking out the judge’s bench, the old court room made a great theater for local performances, an excellent lecture hall and convenient place for balls and community dances.
But “the trustees responsible for the building began to worry about the age of the building, the weight of a big audience upstairs and the strength of the floors," said Denis Lesieur, director of the LLA in 2002, "Adeline's son, Augustus, generously donated money to build a new auditorium, Sedgwick Hall, which was completed in 1889."
In their 1956 centennial history, sisters Helen and Mary MacDonald wrote that the new hall became the town's "principal, and practically sole, place of assembly." Julius Rosenwald wrote that townspeople gathered at the hall for everything “from the grand Horticultural Ball to high school graduations. They came to patriotic meetings to rally support for the Spanish-American war, they saw amateur plays, attended church fairs, heard concerts and some saw Mrs. Grover Cleveland waltz across the floor.”
In their 1956 centennial history, sisters Helen and Mary MacDonald wrote that the new hall became the town's "principal, and practically sole, place of assembly." Julius Rosenwald wrote that townspeople gathered at the hall for everything “from the grand Horticultural Ball to high school graduations. They came to patriotic meetings to rally support for the Spanish-American war, they saw amateur plays, attended church fairs, heard concerts and some saw Mrs. Grover Cleveland waltz across the floor.”
Once the hall took the place of the courtroom the library’s trustees decided to cover the “majestic, swooping dome” so they could split up the second floor into office space.
Smaller offices were easier to rent and the library gained even more interesting neighbors.
Benjamin Rogers moved in with the first telephone exchange. "The switchboard operator who worked the night shift was an amateur musician," recounted Lesieur. "For practice and to keep himself awake between calls, he'd wander around the halls playing his horn [a cornet]. Rogers was also responsible for tripping the town fire alarm which was connected to a “pan of rocks placed on the roof of the belfry, thus causing the bell to ring and sound the alarm.”
Also in residence was the town’s only doctor, cooking classes held by Boston’s Cooking School, an Oriental rug maker and the Lenox National Bank. Not wanting to be discriminatory, the library leased an adjoining room to the local jail and to a lawyer. One stop shopping for a literate bank robber.
"During World War II there wasn't much activity at Tanglewood," said Lesieur. "But the Boston Symphony Orchestra did hold auditions for musicians in Sedgwick Hall. And during the 1940s Maestro Serge Koussevitzky gave lectures and concerts [to benefit the Red Cross] and he had a pianist demonstrate various techniques... Leonard Bernstein. Oh, [in 1960] Norman Rockwell met his future wife, Molly, at a poetry reading in the library."
In 2002 Lenox began a complete renovation and restoration of this well used building. A wonderful surprise awaited them. "We didn't know anything about the dimensions or the condition of the dome," Lesieur said. "It had been covered from 1889 until 2002. I'd seen the back side of the dome from the attic but no records, no photographs existed. It was an incredible experience to finally see it and find it was in restorable condition. The four brass corner vents and stenciling came as a complete surprise; so did the elaborate painting on the dome itself along with all the humming birds flying around."
To Lesieur the library is a physical representation of Lenox’s past. A concrete way to feel the past and consider what life was like in their town 150 years ago. The graduations, horn players, banks and jail rooms might be gone but the books and the building remain to tell their story to anyone who might wanders in..
"During World War II there wasn't much activity at Tanglewood," said Lesieur. "But the Boston Symphony Orchestra did hold auditions for musicians in Sedgwick Hall. And during the 1940s Maestro Serge Koussevitzky gave lectures and concerts [to benefit the Red Cross] and he had a pianist demonstrate various techniques... Leonard Bernstein. Oh, [in 1960] Norman Rockwell met his future wife, Molly, at a poetry reading in the library."
In 2002 Lenox began a complete renovation and restoration of this well used building. A wonderful surprise awaited them. "We didn't know anything about the dimensions or the condition of the dome," Lesieur said. "It had been covered from 1889 until 2002. I'd seen the back side of the dome from the attic but no records, no photographs existed. It was an incredible experience to finally see it and find it was in restorable condition. The four brass corner vents and stenciling came as a complete surprise; so did the elaborate painting on the dome itself along with all the humming birds flying around."
To Lesieur the library is a physical representation of Lenox’s past. A concrete way to feel the past and consider what life was like in their town 150 years ago. The graduations, horn players, banks and jail rooms might be gone but the books and the building remain to tell their story to anyone who might wanders in..
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