Redwood Library and Athenaeum (1747, 1750) (Newport, Rhode Island)

 library, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, interesting place, Georgian (architecture), 1750s construction, U.S. National Historic Landmark

Established before the birth of the United States, the Redwood Library and Athenæum was charted in 1747 and opened in 1750. It is the first library in Rhode Island, the oldest lending library in America, and the first lending library building, in continuous use, in the country.

As the first major architectural commission of Peter Harrison (1716-1775), its conception was a bold one for its time. Symbolically bringing light and order to the emerging culture of the colonial world, Harrison introduced, for the first time in the New World, an architectural style of classical design. A drawing of a Roman Doric temple with portico and wings, probably derived from a 1735 edition of Andrea Palladio's architecture, was used for the model.
www.redwoodlibrary.org/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harrison_%28architect%29