Horatio Lyon Memorial Library - Monson, MA - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

The The Monson Free Library Association was organized in1878. In 1880, Carrie Lyon Dale informed the Association of her intent to erect a library in memory of her father Horatio Lyon, who was the owner of the Monson Woolen Manufacturing Co. She also established a permanent fund to support the library. The symmetrical Romanesque Revival style library designed by Stephen Earl was completed in 1882. It is constructed of Monson granite at a cost of $35,000 and was formally dedicated on March 28, 1882.

The entrance to the library is reached by a flight of steps containing two iron bannisters. The double door entrance is set beneath an alternating light and dark granite arch and framed by a pair of columns supporting a light granite arch. Above the entrance is a balcony with a balustrade railing. Behind the balcony in a Romanesque style window at the base of a tall tower. The tower has the inscription:

Above the inscription is a four-sided clock followed by a pyramidal steeple with dormers within each side. Flanking the entrance are a pair of windows topped with light an dark granite arches. The sides of the library are two bays wide with windows on each bay that match the windows on the front. The main block of the library has a gable roof covered with slate tiles. The roof has large dormers, each with two windows, located on the north and south sides.