Babcock-Smith House Museum
124 Granite Street
Westerly, RI 02891
401-596-5704
bsh1734@verizon.net
Babcock-Smith House Museum |
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Page in Progress Westerly Public Library |
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Another land mark in downtown Westerly is the library building. One doesn’t usually think of granite when looking at the yellow brick library with it terracotta trim; However a close view of the doorway leads to a deeper appreciation of the craftsmen in the granite industry. |
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The five engaged columns on either side of the door are cut from a single piece of stone. Likewise the five stylized Corinthian capitals (2 in picture below) on each side of the door are cut from one stone. The arch is composed of several pieces of granite. Each of these pieces (3 in pucture below) includes part of every tier of the archway –each with detailed carved moldings. The challenge was to cut the stone to the proper dimension to fit precisely to form the several tiers of the arch and to carve the moldings on each tier to match and give the impression of continuity |
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Recent additions to the library have endeavored to keep its unique style. Reconstructing the bay window in its new location was a labor intensive task. Ike Smith, member of the Building Committee, refers to it as “The Ike Smith Save the Bay Effort.” |
© 2009 Babcock-Smith House Museum |
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