Billings Library

The Billings Memorial Library, situated on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, is a textbook example of Richardsonian Romanesque — the heavy, round-arched style that architect Henry Hobson Richardson made his signature in late 19th-century America. Richardson designed the building in 1883 modeled closely on his own earlier Winn Memorial Library in Woburn, Massachusetts, an unusual instance of an architect consciously self-referencing his prior work. Its thick ashlar walls, deep arcaded entrance, and richly articulated facade rank it among the most architecturally distinguished library buildings in New England. In use today as an academic library for UVM students, it also draws architecture enthusiasts drawn to Richardson's work in the original.