The original 1917 building faced Miller Road with the entrance located in what is now the Reference Room. This building and the 1929 addition have many interesting architectural treasures. The large windows in the Reference Room contain stained glass medallions representing Columbus' caravels and also the monograms of five great American poets.
The tower in the Reference Room contains a huge golden eagle which was originally over the entrance of the Morristown Armory The armory was destroyed by fire in 1920, and only the eagle was undamaged.
| The guard rail on the balcony overlooking the Reference Room was designed by Samuel
Yellin, a noted Philadelphia metal worker. The twenty three brass panels contain a
dedicatory proclamation and the names of all 800 men from Morristown and Morris Township
who served in World War 1. The windows in the Circulation Room, originally built in 1929 as the Children's Department, contain scenes from Hiawatha, Roland, King Arthur, Siegfried, El Cid, Sorab, David and Odysseus. The fire screen was designed in 1931 by Samuel Yellin. The screen contains the letter M for Morristown in its design. The handle of the fork contains the initial W for Grinnell Willis, the original benefactor of the Library. The Fiction Room in the Dowling Wing contains an original Thomas Nast cartoon called "Swinging Round the Circle." This cartoon was part of his 1867 Grand Caricaturama show which toured the US. The cartoon was restored and hung in 1990. |
The Atrium
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