John Jermain Memorial Library (Sag Harbor, New York)

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Donated to the people of Sag Harbor by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, the John Jermain Memorial Library opened to the public in 1910. It is named after Mrs. Sage's grandfather who was a major in the Westchester Militia during the Revolutionary War. The desirable property on which the Library is built was bought at a cost of $10,000, and is directly across from Mrs. Sage's then summer home on Main Street. At that time, it was the highest price ever paid for a piece of real estate in Sag Harbor. Augustus N. Allen designed the building, in 1910, in the Classical Revival style. A pediment and four impressive stone Doric columns adorn the front of the fifty-foot by fifty-foot brick structure, constructed at a cost of $70,000. The trim and base of the building are done in stone. The stone lintels of the windows are designed with the Greek key pattern. A winding marble staircase leads up to this room that is crowned by a spacious brick, copper and stained glass dome rising sixty feet above the ground.

The dome, constructed by the R. Guastavino Fireproof Tile Company, is one of the more than 1000 they built, including those at the library of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and the National Museum in Washington, DC. The Library is a historic landmark in the Historic District of the Village of Sag Harbor, NY, listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

It was featured in the last scene of the 1986 film "Sweet Liberty" starring Alan Alda, Michael Caine and Michelle Pfeiffer.
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Coordinates:   40°59'50"N   72°17'46"W
This article was last modified 3 years ago