ELLIOT HOUSE

Elliot House : An Architectural Overview

Elliot House : An Architectural Overview

Introduction

The building located at 151 Deansgate Manchester is the Elliot House. The infrastructure of the Elliot House inhouses the Manchester City Library which is regarded as a cultural treasure to the city of Manchester and also as one of the major public libraries in the New Hemisphere. The elected Mayor Frederick Smith, in his address in the year 1854 planned the construction of a public library that can provide free access to all of citizens of Manchester who wish to avail it. The Athenaeum of Manchester, in the last decade was a symbol of enjoyment for its members; however, on 6th September 1854 the Manchester Athenaeum was successfully transferred to the Manchester city for the construction of the Manchester city library successfully accomplishing the dream of Mayor Smith. The library from the very beginning has been expanding its boundaries every few years (O'Neil & Brisbin, 2013). The new city library constructed expanded its original boundaries on the Elm Street right next to the City Hall. The City government of Manchester constructed a new structure on the Franklin Street in 1871, on the lot donated by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Corporation. Due to the continuous expansion process, the library soon exceeded the boundaries of Franklin Street. This expansion was resulted due to the absence of a separate room for children, who prior to 1907, were not allowed inside the library building

The death of the wife of the President of the Amoskeag Paper Mill, Frank Carpenter offered his services for the construction of a new library building in the loving memory of his wife. He generously invested in the planning and construction processes of the new infrastructure of the library. Edward L. Tilton from New York and Edgar Newcomb from Honolulu were hired as architects. They designed the building of City Library in the Italian Renaissance Style, which proved to serve not only the present needs but the growth experience over several following decades. Frank Carpenter procured a property between Concord Street and the Amherst Street, on the Pine Street directly across the present Victory Park. The structure was name as Elenora Blood Carpenter Building on the 18th Novemeber 1914; the structure which is still housing the library today. Manchester City Library formally dedicated the New Hampshire Room, a reference library for the information on the local history and genealogy on 16th March, 1958, which at present includes the microfilms of scrapbooks of newspapers from the year 1845 to 1941 collection of the library. The New Hampshire Room was moved to the largest room on the second floor of the Elliot House Manchester City Library in the summer of 1995. The relocation and the renovation of the project were funded by inheritance of Priscilla Sullivan (late) (O'Neil & Brisbin, 2013). The construction of the building started in 1912 and the structure was successfully completed in the year 1914.

When passing through the library entrance, there is an imposed sculpture of an owl as ...