Stone Building

The Stone Building, built in 1833, is an historic Greek Revival style building located at 735 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was originally a meeting hall and lyceum for East Lexington, which had its own civic identity and, later, its own church, the neighboring Follen Community Church. Notable speakers at the Lyceum included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Theodore Parker, and Josiah Quincy, Jr.

Not to be confused with Stone Buildings.
Stone Building
Stone Building in 2015
LocationLexington, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°25′46″N 71°12′26″W
Built1833
ArchitectIsaac Melvin; Curtiss Capell
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.76000252[1]
Added to NRHPApril 30, 1976

The building was sold to the Trustees of the Cary Memorial Library for $2,000 in 1891, by Ellen Stone, granddaughter of Eli Robbins, who built it, and it was named for her.[2] After her death in 1944, she bequeathed $2,000 to the Town for a fund to aid needy and deserving girls in pursuit of education. The East Lexington branch library which had been established in 1883, occupied it until the building was closed for repairs in 2007.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Current status

In August, 2007, the building suffered damage from burst pipes, and was closed for repairs.[4] The East Lexington Library never reopened.

In February 2009, the Cary Memorial Library Board of Trustees announced their decision to use the Stone Building as a Lexington Heritage Center[5] which never came to fruition.

In August 2020, the Lexington Select Board revived the proposal for the Ad Hoc Stone Building Feasibility/Re-Use Committee to find a purpose for this historic building after being unused for 13 years.[6]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. History of Cary Memorial Library Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  3. East Branch of Cary Memorial Library
  4. Lexington weighs new role for Stone Building
  5. Cary Memorial Library press release accessed September 19, 2011
  6. "Select Board Seeks Volunteers for Ad Hoc Stone Building Feasibility/Re-Use Committee".
  • Intricate detailed woodwork around the main door


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.