Belmont Public Library

The Belmont Public Library is remarkably well preserved. The only exterior change has been the addition, in the 1970s, of a small entry porch to shelter the basement door. Interior changes have also been limited, the mounting of a metal eagle above the auditorium fireplace in 1974, the carpeting of the main level floors in 1979, the installation of quilted window curtains in 1982 and of two ceiling fans in 1984. Otherwise, the library building appears exactly as it did when it was opened to the public in 1928.

The Belmont Public Library is actually a small and rather simple building. But it is distinguished by its good materials, excellent design, and fine detailing. The materials used in the building, from the hardwood floors in the basement to the slate roof, are all of high quality. The exterior is well proportioned, with the entry portico and the projecting end chimneys adding variety and interest, but not overwhelming the basic rectangular, gable-roofed block. The details are excellent, including the flemish bond brickwork with its water table, the cornices with their fine moldings, (particularly the lateral cornices with their modillions), the central arched doorway with its leaded glass sidelights and transom window, and its brick arch with ornamented keystone and impost blocks, the excellent classical portico with its tall, elegant columns and pilasters and well-proportioned pediment, the windows with their ornate lintels and sills, particularly the larger windows with their balconets and under window panels), and finally, the two impressive gable end chimneys. The interior was also well designed and built. The subsidiary spaces in the basement, notably the auditorium, are pleasing rooms. The vestibule, with its large arched entries, is also an attractive space. But, the main room, the library proper, is the most impressive, with its paneled walls lined with bookcases, its arched entry, the grand fireplaces and chimney breasts, and the high ceiling with its heavy detailed cornice. The main room is a dignified, almost elegant, space. In summary, the Belmont Public Library is notable throughout for its high quality of material and ornament, and for its well-thought-out, albeit simple, design.

The choice of the Colonial Revival style for the Belmont Public Library was not unusual. By the 1920s, the Colonial Revival was the preferred style for New Hampshire libraries, from small-town libraries, such as the Belmont library, to large institutional libraries, such as Baker Memorial Library at Dartmouth College (1926-28). And the style remained popular for libraries through the 1930s and up to the present day.. Of the eleven public libraries built in the Lakes Region since World War I, eight have been Colonial Revival in design, including the Gilford Public Library (1924-25), the Gafney Library in Sanbornville (1925), the Moultonboro Public Library (1929), the Ossipee Public Library (1938-39), the Gilman Library in Alton (1951), the Freedom Public Library (1968-71), and the Tuftonboro Free Library (1969-70). The Belmont Public Library is easily the best of these eight buildings. Indeed, it is architecturally the finest of all the public libraries erected in the region since the First World War. For small public libraries of similar quality, one must turn to such pre-war buildings as the Samuel H. Wentworth Library in Sandwich (1915), the Nichols Memorial Library in Centre Harbor (1909-10), and the only pre-war Colonial Revival library, the Wakefield Public Library (1902-03). The Wakefield Public Library is, in fact, the only rival to the Belmont Public Library among the region's Colonial Revival library buildings. The Belmont Public Library must therefore be ranked highly among the Lakes Region's public buildings, both as a fine library building and as an excellent example of the popular Colonial Revival style.