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Library 1994.AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
THE BUFFALO LIBRARY,
PRIOR TO THE FREE LIBRARY MOVEMENT.
BY J, N. LARNED,
Superintendent, 1877-1897.
The Buffalo Library was known during the first 50 years
of its life as the Library of the Young Men’s Association, or,
in common speech, as the Young Men’s Library, of Buffalo.
An earlier “Buffalo Library”—a little village collection of
books, about 700 in number—had been formed in 1816, by a
small company of stockholders who held together until 1832.
A second library and literary society was organized near the
close of 1830, under the name of the Buffalo Lyceum, which
seemed vigorous for a time in several directions of activity,
but which had no long existence. It was not until the winter
of 1836 that a movement with some really lasting energy in
it was set on foot, and resulted in the organization of the
Young Men’s Association of the City of Buffalo. The in-
cidents and circumstances of that movement were inves-
tigated carefully by the late Charles D. Norton, when he
prepared his historical address, delivered on the occasion of
the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Asso-
ciation, in 1861, and he wrote:	“If it were necessary to
state the names of the men who deserve the title of founders
of this association, it could only be said that the general and
recognized necessity for such an institution induced a variety862
THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
of effort, in which all the young men of the place were more
or less engaged. The letters furnished to me, by gentlemen
of this city, render it not a little difficult to determine whose
is the especial honor, but they indicate the general interest
taken in it by our citizens.” In the Commercial Advertiser
of Feb. 20, 1836, Mr. Norton found the following notice,
signed by yearly 400 citizens, “comprising all classes, trades
and professions”:
Y. M. Association.—The young men of Buffalo friendly to the
foundation of a Young Men’s Association for mutual improvement
in literature and science, are requested to meet at the Court House
on Monday, the 22d day of February, at the hour of 7 P. M.
At the meeting which followed this notice, Hon. Hiram
Pratt presided, and Richard L. Allen and Isaac W. Skinner
were secretaries. A constitution had been previously pre-
pared at the office of Mr. Seth C. Hawley, copied in a great
degree from that of the Young Men’s Association at Albany,
which was submitted to this meeting by Mr. Frederick P.
Stevens. After some sharp discussion the constitution was
adopted, and an adjournment was had to the 29th of the
same month, that the constitution might be examined and
subscribed. On the adjourned day Mr. Roswell W. Haskins,
presided, Mr. George E. Hayes was secretary, and a com-
mittee of seven was appointed to nominate officers; and,
with Mr. Henry K. Smith and Mr. Dyre Tillinghast acting
as tellers, the persons who had become members elected as
president Seth C. Hawley; Dr. Charles Winne, Samuel N.
Callender, and George Brown as vice-presidents; Frederick
P. Stevens, corresponding secretary; A. G. C. Cochrane,
recording secretary, and John R. Lee, treasurer. The man-
agers chosen were Oliver G. Steele, Henry K. Smith,
William H. Lacv, Geo. W. Allen, Chas. H. Raymond, Henry
R. Williams, George E. Hayes, Halsey R. Wing, Rushmore
Poole and Hunting S. Chamberlain.
The Association came into existence at a time when,
everybody felt rich. It was the year, of bubbles in land spec-
ulation which preceded the great collapse of 1837. A sub-
scription that ran up to $6,700 in amount was raised withTHE BUFFALO LIBRARY..
363
astonishing ease to give the new library a solid footing. The
books of the old Buffalo Library and of the Lyceum were
transferred to it, considerable purchases were made under a
contract with the Messrs. Butler, and 2,700 volumes in all
were collected before the end of the year. The chief feature
of the institution, however, was its newspaper reading-room,
where six quarterly, 10 monthly and 44 weekly publications
were on file, and which boasted of being the completest in
any city west of New York.
The financial crash of 1837 swept many imagined for-
tunes out of existence, and with them a great part of the
small endowment which the library was supposed to have
secured in the subscriptions alluded to above. Its .member-
ship fell away, it was weighted with some debt which it had
contracted too hopefully, and for half a dozen years, or
more, it. struggled doubtfully and hard between life and
death. But there was pluck in the young men of those days,
and a Spartan band among them stood fast by the Associa-
tion through all difficulties until the coming of more pros-
perous times. Not, however, until 1845, under the presi-
dency of Mr. Gibson T. Williams, was it cleared of debt and
fairly launched upon its successful career.
The original rooms of the Association were on the upper
floors of the building then owned by Mr. Joseph Dart, num-
bered 175 Main Street, now numbered 219, being three doors
below Seneca Street. Mr. B. W. Jenks, a portrait painter,
occupied adjoining rooms and became nominally the first
librarian by reason of that circumstance, undertaking to
overlook the library while pursuing his own work. In reality,
the functions of the first librarian were performed by Mr.
J. F. Young of Williamsville, then a lad taking lessons in art
from Mr. Jenks, and to whom the latter delegated the care
of the neighboring books and newspapers. Subsequently,
the post was accepted by Dr. Charles H. Raymond, who had
been prominent among the founders of the library and fore-
most in activity of effort to sustain it. The labor that he as-
sumed, said Mr. Norton, speaking in 1861, and the patience
he displayed under great discouragements, and the resolu-
tion with which he persisted in his unrewarded toil, assign•384	THE BUFFALO LIBRARY..
to him a place among its chief benefactors. He was a ripe
and good scholar, and had all a scholar’s modesty. Dr.
Raymond served as librarian until some time in 1839, when
he was succeeded by Mr. Phineas Sargeant, who remained
-at the desk until 1850.
In May, 1841, the Association removed to South Division
Street, in rooms over the shops now numbered 15 and 16,
the library being at one side of the stairway, while a small
lecture room was fitted up on the other side. These rooms
became inadequate and unsuitable before many years had
passed. The first movement which the* discontent with them
-engendered took the form of a building project, and in 1848
the undertaking was very seriously set on foot. It went so
far that a building committee, having the matter in charge,
bought a lot of,ground for the purpose, 48 feet front by 91
feet deep, on the north side of Eagle Street, between Main
and Pearl streets, for $3,000. This was done, however, on
their individual responsibility. They procured plans and
specifications, contemplating a structure which would cost
from $8,000 to $12,000. They secured the passage of an act
authorizing the Association to borrow $15,000 on its bonds,
and they invited subscriptions from citizens in aid of the
project. An elegant blank-book, richly bound in Russia
leather, with an inscription upon the side:	“Building sub-
scriptions, Young Men’s Association, 1848,” is still pre-
served among the archives of the library. But, alas! its
inviting white leaves have no stain of ink. Not an auto-
graph is found in it.
The premature building project came to naught; but it
had its effect, without doubt, in stimulating a movement to
the American Block, which took place in 1852. American
Hall was leased, with commodious rooms for the library un-
derneath, and the circumstances as well as the situation of
the Association were greatly improved. The hall became a
source of considerable income; the Annual lecture courses
grew more popular and profitable; membership increased
and the course of advancing prosperity was generally
smoothed.THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
865,
Meantime, in 1850, failing health had caused the resig-
nation of Mr. Phineas Sargeant from the librarianship and
Mr. Lewis Jenkins succeeded to him. But a few months,
after the removal in 1852 Mr. Jenkins resigned, in. his turn,
and Mr. William Ives was appointed in his place.*
A period of 12 uneventful years followed, during which,
the Association and its library gained slowly but steadily in.
strength and character. As early as 1856 we begin to find
complaint again in the annual reports of insufficient room
for new books, and the -talk of building reappears. The late
George Palmer gave encouragement to the scheme that year
by a'munificent proposition. He offered to present to the
Association a lot of land valued at $12,000, with $10,000 in.
money additional, provided that $90,000 more should be
raised from other sources for an adequate building. The
condition could not be fulfilled and the offered gift was lost.
Next year the business world was strewn with the ruins of
a financial earthquake. A little later came the political agi-
tations which preceded the Civil War, and then the war
itself. There was little use in that period of talking or
thinking about anything better for the library than the quar-
ters which it had outgrown. Some growth went on, despite
the tumult and despite the crowding. Just when the guns at.
Sumter were being trained to fire their war signal, on the
evening of the 22d of March, 1861, the Association cele-
brated its quarter-centennial anniversary with stately cere-
mony and fine enthusiasm. The exercises, held in St. James*
Hall, were notably interesting. Mr. David Gray read a very
noble poem, the strains of which are still lingering in the
memory of those who heard it. Mr. Charles D. Norton de-
livered the historical, address, which has been quoted from
above. Other addresses were made by Joseph Warren, then
president of the Association; Hon. J. G. Masten, Hon.
William Dorsheimer and Mr. Edward Stevens, with inter-
ludes of music, both vocal and instrumental.
* Mr. Ives still happily continues as librarian of the expanded institution. The'
50th anniversary of his connection with the library was celebrated on April 3, 1902,
with gifts to Mr. Ives, adoption of. complimentary resolutions, and a public recep-
tion. His name has been bestowed upon one of the branch libraries.366
THE BUFFALO *LIBRARY.
These exercises were found so interesting and awakened
so much life in the Association that something of like char-
acter was planned, for the next annual meeting, held Feb. 17,
1862. Again, Mr. Gray-contributed a memorable poem,
while the late Judge Clinton delivered an admirable address,
retrospective of events in the general history of the city.
Meantime, even amid the agitations of war, there oc-
curred a revival of the dormant building project. It came
to life in connection with the acceptance by the City of Buf-
falo of the bequest which founded the Grosvenor Library.
Immediate efforts were set on foot to bring about a coopera-
tive building undertaking looking to the permanent planting
of the two libraries side by side. The original trustees of the
Grosvenor Library, Messrs. O. H. Marshall, George R.
Babcock and J. G. Masten, were found to be favorable to the
scheme. In the beginning it contemplated the acquisition,
by gift from the city, of the old Mohawk Street market
ground (now the site of the Young Men’s Christian Associa-
tion building),* to be divided between the Young Men’s As-
sociation and the Grosvenor Library, each to build upon its
own part, but the contiguous buildings to be one in external
unity. The undertaking looked hopeful for a time; then
came various difficulties. Adjacent lots which were needed
could not be reasonably bought, and some opposition to the
Mohawk Street location was found to exist. This was in
1862, when the war was at a gloomy crisis and national af-
fairs were in a doubtful state. Yet, the executive committee
of that year, with Gen. R. L. Howard at the head were un-
daunted and persevering. They procured building subscrip-
tions to an amount exceeding $10,000. They invited pro-
posals for suitable building sites and reported nine offers,
which were taken into consideration. One of these, which
was for a lot of ground on Main Street, above Huron, and
opposite the North Church, gave so much satisfaction that
the president, Gen. Howard, bought the property in his own
name to secure it. The lot on the northerly side of Eagle
Street, fronting 53 feet on Main Street and running to
*To be abandoned within a few months for still more ample quarters, its new
building bounded by Genesee, Mohawk and Franklin streets.THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.	367
Washington Street, was also proposed, Mr. S. V. R. Watson,
who owned a half interest in the property, offering to make
liis interest a gift; but negotiations with owners of the ad-
jacent ground to secure some necessary addition of space
were not successful.
So the building project went over to the next year
(1863), when Mr. S. V. R. Watson became president of the
Association. Again there were many plans and many sites
discussed, and several conferences were held by the building
committee with the trustees of the Grosvenor Library and
delegates from the Fine Arts Academy, the Historical So-
ciety and the Society of Natural Sciences. The result was
the provisional adoption of a “plan contemplating the union
of all the societies and the Grosvenor Library in the erection
of a suitable building for their general accommodation, a
specific part to be appropriated to each society, and the title
of the premises to be vested in the Young Men’s Association,
except such part thereof as should be occupied by the
Grosvenor Library.” But subsequently the Fine Arts Acad-
emy and Historical Society demanded modifications of the
plan which the executive committee of the Y. M. A. “deemed
it would be unwise for this Association to adopt” and it was
thereafter abandoned.
But, immediately on this, followed a movement which
proved brilliantly successful, and which placed the library
on sure ground for all time, as we may reasonably believe.
President Watson opened negotiations with Messrs. Albert
and George Brisbane for the purchase of the premises on
Main, Eagle and Washington streets, known as the St.
James Hotel and St. James Hall. Before the year closed, an
agreement had been signed which secured three months’
time for concluding the purchase of these premises at the
price of $112,500. Within the stipulated three months,
which expired March 26, 1864, a building fund amounting
to $81,655 was raised by subscription among the members
and friends of the Association, in sums which ranged from
$5 to $3,000, and the purchase of the St. James Hotel and
Hall property was duly consummated. A mortgage to the
Erie County Savings Bank for $50,000 provided money for368
THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
the completion of payments to the Messrs. Brisbane, and for
the alterations required to be made in the premises. Pos-
session of the hotel was secured Sept, ist, and the necessary
changes of interior construction were so speedily made that
the library was formally installed in its new home on the
ioth day of January, 1865. The occasion was distinguished
by addresses from President Watson and from the late
Oliver G. Steele, and by another poem from the pen of David
Gray. It was the one, well remembered among Buffalonians,
in which he paid his tender tribute to the brave McMahon,
telling “How the young Colonel .died.”
In the reconstructed hotel building, the i\ssociation oc-
cupied the second floor with its library and reading-rooms,,
well accommodated. On the third, fourth and fifth floors
suitable rooms were prepared for the Fine Arts Academy,
the Historical Society and the Society of Natural Sciences,
under an arrangement that was liberal in. its terms. Soon
afterwards the Grosvenor Library, then just beginning its
collection of books, the Law Library (also in the infant
stage), the Young Men’s Christian Association, the Young
Men’s Catholic Association, the Erie County Medical So-
ciety and the Firemen’s Benevolent Association were all
given habitations in the hospitable building at moderate rates
of rent. The Grosvenor Library was presently removed to
other quarters, and several of the societies named were ten-
ants for a few years only.
Four large stores on the ground floor of the building, and
St. James Hall at the rear, on Eagle and Washington streets,
were leased on satisfactory terms, and brought in a hand-
some rental.
The Association was now very happy in its circum-
stances. Its library was well placed, with convenient ar-
rangements and with space for a considerable growth. Its
reading-rooms were commodious and pleasant. It had ad-
vanced in public favor and its membership increased. Its
property, ably managed by three real-estate commissioners,
yielded revenues which extinguished the mortgage debt upon
it within 13 years. At the same time the library enjoyed
more liberal appropriations for books than had been possibleTHE BUFFALO LIBRARY.	369
before. Yet the accumulation of books was soon thought to
be proceeding too slowly, and in 1869, under the presidency
of Mr. Henry A. Richmond, a special fund for immediate
purchases was provided by an issue of bonds. This gave to
the library committees of the following two years nearly
$19,000 for expenditure, and the total of books was raised
from about 16,000 in 1870, to 25,000 in 1872, while a full
and excellent catalogue was prepared and printed, supplying
a want that had been urgent for many years.
The five years next following were not eventful in the
life of the Association ; but in 1877 an important amendment
of its constitution wras brought into effect. The object of the
amendment was to cure the evil influence upon the library of
an annual change in its administrative committees. There-
after, the immediate supervision of the library was entrusted
to. three '“curators,” one elected each year, with two other
members of the executive committee, appointed annually,
forming a library committee; while the 12 directors in the
executive committee were elected, four annually, for terms
of three years each. f
Soon afterwards, a change was made in the working or-
ganization of the library by creating the office of superin-
tendent, Mr. J. N. Larned being appointed to the place and
entering upon its duties in April, 1877. During that year
and the following one, the library, which contained about
30,000 volumes at the beginning of the work, was reclassified
and rearranged throughout on what is known as the
“movable system,” or “system of relative location” for books,
and a new card catalogue was made for the whole. .
By the final extinction of the mortgage debt of the Asso-
ciation, at the beginning of 1878, a more continuous liberal-
ity of appropriations for the purchase of books was intro-
duced from that date. Yet the total book expenditure of
the succeeding 10 years barely equalled that of the preceding
decade, owing to the large extra fund that had been raised
and applied in 1871 and 1872. In the 10 years 1868-1877,
21,498 volumes of books were added to the library, and
$37,200 expended. In the 10 years 1878-1887, 29,224 vol-
umes were added, and the expenditure was $37,139. This370
THE BUFFAEO LIBRARY.
accelerated growth soon crowded the library shelves and
forced extensions and changes of arrangements that were
found every year more inconvenient and troublesome. At
the same time, with the increasing value of the collection of
books, an increasing desire was felt to see it more safely
housed. Hence arose often recurring demands for the con-
struction of a fire-proof library building. Attention had
long been fixed upon the ground occupied by the old county
buildings, vacated in 1876 (Washington, Broadway, Ellicott
and Clinton streets), as offering the most desirable site, and
several movements to secure the property were made, but
with no result. In 1880 there was serious talk of purchasing
the old Unitarian Church, at the corner of Franklin and
Eagle streets, and converting it into a fire-proof structure for
the library. Plans and estimates for the work were procured
and considered, but the project did not meet with favor and
was dropped. The suggested fire-proof reconstruction of
the old church building was afterwards carried out by the
Austin estate for business'purposes.
In the autumn of 1882 a movement by various parties to
bring about the sale of the county property mentioned above
showed strong influence in the Board of Supervisors, and it
appeared probable that the fine site in question would soon
pass to private owners and be turned to some not very digni-
fied commercial use. Hon. Sherman S. Rogers and Hon.
James M. Smith, conversing on the subject one morning,
resolved suddenly to rescue from that ignoble fate a piece of
ground which seemed conspicuously designed for a worthy
public edifice. They found seven other gentlemen to join
them in forming a syndicate composed as follows: Sherman
S. Rogers, James M. Smith, Sherman S. Jewett, Francis H.
Root, Charles Berrick, O. P. Ramsdell, Dexter P. Rumsey,
Pascal P. Pratt, Geo. Howard. These gentlemen, without
delay submitted proposals to the Board of Supervisors for
the purchase of the ground in question, under agreement to
transfer the same at any time within 12 months to any one
or more of several societies and institutions named, which
might determine to buy and build upon the site. Their pro-THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
371
posal was accepted and the conveyance of the property wa!
duly made to them.
The public spirit of the city was now challenged to make
use of the opportunity thus secured. It was felt that the
stipulated year must not be suffered to pass without deter-
mining an undertaking in some mode to cover the site
worthily, and to gather there, if possible, under one stately
roof, the representative institutions of art, science and litera-
ture. The Young Men’s Association was looked to for lead-
ership in the enterprise. At the next election of the Associa-
tion, in February, 1883, Mr. .Edward B. Smith was chosen
president, distinctly with a view to enlisting his known
energy and resoluteness. Under Mr. Smith’s command the
campaign was soon opened. The trustees of the Grosvenor
Library and the citizens’ committee, or syndicate, which held
the old court-house property, joined the officers of the As-
sociation in sending out to prominent citizens an invitation
phrased as follows:
A meeting of gentlemen will be held at 8 o’clock on Wednesday
evening, April 18th, at the residence of Mr. Sherman S. Jewett, for
the purpose of consultation respecting plans for the improvement of
the old court-house lands, with a view to establishing the important
art, literary, and scientific institutions of the city in a suitable edifice
upon that most central and commanding site.
We are permitted by Mr. Jewett to invite to this conference a
few of the prominent citizens most likely to feel interest in the mat-
ter, and such invitation is respectfully extended to you. It is hoped
you will not fail to be present.
The meeting was largely attended and gave a powerful
impetus to the undertaking by its encouraging spirit. Mr.
Smith submitted a plan of proceeding, which contemplated
the cooperation of the Grosvenor Library with the Young
Men’s Association in the erection of a building, or of two
buildings which might be substantially one in design, to ac-
commodate not only themselves, but likewise the Fine Arts
Academy, the Historical Society and the Society of Natural
Sciences; the Young Men’s Association to raise for the pur-
pose about $175,000, by bonds and otherwise, the Grosvenor
Library to expend its accumulated building fund of $65,000,372
THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
and $100,000 or $125,000 additional to be procured by pri-
vate subscriptions from the friends of the enterprise. The
plan was generally approved by the meeting, and resolutions
were adopted which recommended the Association to enter
upon the proposed undertaking with vigor, and at once.
After the adjournment a subscription book was opened and
headed with the signatures of Sherman S. Jewett and Sher-
man S. Rogers, with $5,000 attached to each.
From this auspicious beginning the subscription was
pushed actively, but did not advance with the rapidity that
might have been expected. JThe 1st of December found
some $30,000 still wanting to make up the $100,000 which
the terms of the subscription required to be raised before the
end of that month. The prospect was discouraging, and not
many men would have confronted it with the determination
shown by President Smith. He had no thought of relin-
quishing the undertaking. Having apparently exhausted the
subscriptions in large sums, or nearly so, he turned to the
whole membership of the Association, and to the public at
large, with a strong appeal for contributions of any and
every amount within the means of the contributor. The re-
sponse to this appeal was surprising. A single week changed
the whole aspect of affairs. For sums ranging all the way
from $1 to $5bo, subscriptions in amazing .numbers were
poured in, and the total footing reached and passed $100,000
some days before the close of the month. The final result
was a building-fund subscription which aggregated about
$117,000, nearly all of which proved eventually to be good.
The undertaking was now assured, and attention was
promptly turned to the procuring of satisfactory designs
and plans for the nascent edifice. The superintendent of the
library was deputed to visit several eastern cities, to confer
with leading architects and to study the construction and
arrangements of the best library buildings. By the concur-
rent action of the executive committee and the board of real
estate, a building committee of five was appointed, to which
large powers were delegated, for the supervision and direc-
tion of the contemplated work. The committee was con-
stituted as follows:	Edward B. Smith, chairman; JewettTHE BUFFALO LIBRARY.	373
M. Richmond, John G. Milburn, George B. Hayes, J. N.
Larned.
The first proceeding of the building committee was to
open conferences and correspondence with the trustees of the
Grosvenor Library and with the managing boards of the
Fine Arts Academy, the Society of Natural Sciences, and
the Historical Society. It was soon found that the trustees
of the Grosvenor Library entertained views respecting the
division of cost and of accommodations between the two li-.
braries, and consequent plans of building, which differed so
radically from the views held on the side of the Association
that no possible reconciliation of them could be hoped for.
All attempts, therefore, to arrange a cooperative enterprise
were abandoned, and the Association addressed itself inde-
pendently to the work. Little difficulty was found in ar-
riving at an understanding with the three other societies ex-
pecting to be tenants of the building when completed. ' It
was agreed with the Fine Arts Academy that rooms and
sky-lighted galleries to cover not less than a certain desig-
nated area on the second floor should be provided “for its
uncontrolled use, during whatever period it may choose to
occupy the same as an art gallery, free of any rent-charge,
but subject only to the conditions that it shall maintain the
said portion of the building in proper repair, and' that it
shall pay its proportion of the cost of warming the build-
ing.” With the Historical Society and the Society of Natu-
ral Sciences the agreement was for a tenancy on similar
terms, but limited to 25 years in duration, after which time,
or earlier if the premises in question should be vacated, “the
Association may reclaim the same.” Rooms for the His-
torical Society were to be not less than 4,500 square feet in
area, on the third floor, and those for the Society of Natural
Sciences in the basement, 10,000 square feet in area at the
least.
Meantime—and long previously, in fact—careful studies
were being made to determine the form of building and the
arrangement of floor plans that would seem to satisfy the
wants of the library and the demands of the associated group
of institutions in the most perfect way. The peculiar trape-374
THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
zoidal lot of ground to be built upon offered difficulties and
advantages, in equal measure, perhaps, and made the prob-
lem interesting. As the fruit of these studies, a set of floor-
plan sketches was prepared, by way of suggestion to the
architects who might undertake to submit designs for the
building. The architects of the city were all invited to offer
competitive designs, and the same invitation was extended to
13 architects in other cities. The middle of April had been
.reached before these invitations were sent out. To' each
architect invited there was sent a copy of the suggested floor
plans mentioned above, together with a printed circular which
described, in full detail, all the wants to be satisfied and
all the conditions to be met in the construction and arrange-
ments of the building. The limit of time named for receiv-
ing designs was July 1st. At the appointed date 11 archi-
tects were found to have submitted designs to the committee,
but anonymously, as was prescribed. The 11 competitors,
subsequently identified, were:	H. H. Richardson, Brook-
line, Mass.; Van Brunt & Howe, Boston; C. L. W. Eidlitz,
New York; W. H. Wilcox, St. Paul, Minn.; William Wat-
son, Montreal; Warner & Brockett, Rochester, N. Y.; 0. K.
Porter, Buffalo; Beebe and Freeman, Buffalo; August
Esenwein and F. W. Humble, Buffalo; C. R. Percival, Buf-
falo; H. Macdiarmid, Buffalo.
After careful and long consideration, the building com-
mittee, on the nth of July, adopted as its choice, n with
unanimity, the design submitted by Mr. C. L. W. Eidlitz of
New York. At the same time, the second premium that had
been offered was awarded to Mr. Richardson, and the third
to Mr. Wilcox. The action of the committee was confirmed
by the executive committee of the association, and it was un-
questionably approved by the general public verdict.
Arrangements were now promptly concluded with Mr.
Eidlitz for the preparation of working plans and specifica-
tions, and early in October a contract for the excavation and
foundation work of the building was let. Ground was
broken on the morning of the 8th of October, in the presence
of a few ladies and gentlemen who had warning of the event,
and who took the place of the laborers for a time in handlingTHE BUFFALO LIBRARY. .	375
plough and shovel. The first wagon was loaded by these
volunteers and the first spadeful of earth thrown into it by
Mrs. S. V. R. Watson.
In January, 1885, the contracts for the principal work
were let. At this time the building plans contemplated a
strictly fire-proof construction for only the Broadway wing
of the building, in which the book-room of the library and
the picture gallery of the Fine Arts Academy were to be
placed. No more than that could be done within the limit of
$225,000 that had been fixed for the cost of construction..
But further consideration led to a revision of these plans,
and it was determined that the whole structure should be
made fire-proof. Supplementary contracts were accordingly
made, under which work began in April.
Mr. Smith had been reelected president in February,
1884, but declined a third election the following year, plead-
ing the pressure of his private business affairs upon his at-
tention and time. He accepted, however, a seat in the board
of real estate. His natural successor in the presidency was
Mr. Jewett M. Richmond, who had been one of the building
committee and prominently active in the whole movement.
Mr. Richmond was reelected in* 1886 and again in 1887, and
surrendered his services very largely to the undertaking,
giving close personal attention to it throughout.
The vacancy in the building committee caused by the re-
tirement of Mr. Smith (Mr. Richmond then becoming chair-
man of the committee) was filled by the appointment of Mr.
Henry C. French. In the following year, 1886, Mr. French
and Mr. Geo. B. Hayes were withdrawn from the building
committee by the expiration of their terms in the executive
committee, and were succeeded by Messrs. Howard H.
Baker and Robert R. Hefford.
Work was pressed vigorously by most of the contractors,
but lasted through 1885, .1886, and until March, 1887, before
the last details were finished. In May, 1886, by an act of the
Legislature of New York, the “Young Men’s Association of
Buffalo” became, by change of name, “The Buffalo Library/*
and its “executive committee” was changed in title to a
“board of managers.”376	THE BUFFALO LIBRARY.
On Monday, the 13th of September, 1886, the removal of
the library to its new home was begun. The new building
was not yet in readiness for it, but the old building was no
longer hospitable. The latter had been leased to Messrs.
Stafford & Co. for reversion to its original uses as a hotel.
Extensive changes of interior construction required to be
made, and the commencement of work upon these necessarily
hastened the departure of the library. As an unfortunate
consequence, its books were put out of use for nearly four
months. It was not until the third day of January, 1887,
that the stately portals on Broadway could be opened to
readers.
Even then the opening was informal and incomplete.
The ceremonious and official introduction of the public to the
new building was postponed until the evening of Monday,
Feb. 7th, when the Library united with the Fine Arts Acad-
emy, the Historical Society and the Society of Natural
Sciences, in a general reception of their members and
friends. A prayer by Bishop Coxe, brief addresses by
President Richmond of the Library, Vice-President Sher-
man S. Rogers of the Fine Arts Academy, President D. S.
Kellicott of the Society of Natural Sciences, and ex-Presi-
dent James Sheldon of the Historical Society, with a short
reminiscent sketch by Mr. John R. Lee, the first treasurer of
the Young Men's Association, and the only survivor of its
board of officers, were the simple dedicatory exercises that
had been prepared. Notwithstanding unfavorable weather,
the guests of the evening numbered many thousands, and
the splendid building, thronged in every part, presented a
memorable scene. A programme of music, performed by the
Philharmonic Orchestra, gave appropriate entertainment to
the visitors. The library at this time was fully settled and
arranged.
Note.—On March 18, 1887, the building which the Buffalo Library had vacated
the preceding September, and which (still owned by the library) had become the
Richmond hotel, was destroyed by fire, 15 persons perishing in the flames or dying
from injuries received in trying to escape. It was one of the most horrible calami-
ties in the history of Buffalo, and cast a great shadow over what seemed to be the
happy fortunes of the library. The decision was promptly reached to rebuild on the
site, as nearly, fireproof as possible. The present Iroquois hotel, occupying the site
of the burned building and of St. James Hall, adjacent, is the result of that decision.