Kenwood Academy

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Built in 1904, this Classical Revival-style building was designed by Solon S. Beman to serve as a branch of the Chicago Public Library for the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods, and was funded by philanthropist Timothy Blackstone, a railroad executive. The building is clad in granite with doric pilasters, an ionic front portico with a pediment featuring acroterions, casement windows, a raised plinth at the base, a copper dome atop the roof, and a postmodern-style addition to the south of the original building. Inside, the library features an entrance rotunda with a domed roof, mosaic tile floor, brass lampposts, and decorative murals, a wing with two-story book stacks featuring decorative brass railings, columns, and bookcases, coffered ceilings, marble wall cladding, and wooden trim. The building is a contributing structure in the Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2010, and today, remains in use as a branch of the Chicago Public Library.. Openly licensed location photograph selected near the verified coordinates.
Photograph: Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & credits