Beacon’s Cultural Gem
A Brief History
Beacon New York is the home of the Howland Cultural Center, a landmark building – listed on the National Register of Historic Places – that was commissioned as a library in 1872. On May 15, 2022, The Howland Center will celebrate its 150th anniversary. General Joseph Howland was a Civil War General and shipping magnate and the primarary benefactor of the then Howland Library. Later it became the Howland Cultural Center.
General Joseph and his wife, Elizabeth Woolsey Howland, in addition to establishing the Howland Library, made several other gifts to the Beacon community, including the Tioronda School, the first Highland Hospital, and the First Presbyterian Church. Their estate, called Tioranda, after the Native American word meaning “Meeting of the Waters”, was designed by the architect Frederick Clark Withers.
To learn more about General Howland you can visit his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Howland
Howland commissioned his brother-in-law, Richard Morris Hunt, to design the new library. Hunt would later go on to design the base of the Statue of Liberty, the façade and main rotunda of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a wing of the Louvre Museum in Paris, as well as the “Breakers” at Newport, Rhode Island.
To learn more about Mr. Hunt you can visit his Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Morris_Hunt
The Exterior
The building itself is beautiful both inside and out. It is Norwegian in architectural style and has a six-gabled roof covered with Delaware slate. The outside walls are made of red-and-black Croton brick which is interlaid with light Jersey brick.
Here is an early photo of the Howland Center, which hangs in the entrance hallway.
Here are two shots of the building’s brick details. Click on each gallery photo to see the full photo.
The Interior
The ceiling – from floor to dome – measures 33 feet and 9 inches and is supported by hand-crafted Giorgia pine columns. The floors are in three thicknesses, composed of English cane felt laid on hemlock boards to prevent dampness or sound propagation. Having attended several events, I can attest that the acoustics in the room are superb.
The Howland Center is going through a process of renovation and renewal. The first order of business has been to refurbish and repaint the upper levels a warm white, and to enliven and enrich the main floor with Kilim-red panels as shown in the photo below.
In order to capture the true color of panels, I decreased my iPhone’s exposure to take a photo of the panel as I saw it. It is difficult to capture the precise color of the panels, as shown in the various photographs below. This is due to the extant light hitting the camera’s sensor and the processing being done within the camera. In order to really experience the unique warmth of the room, you have to be there.
Here is a wide-angle shot of the interior:
Here are several additional photos; please click on each photo to see it full-screen.
The Future
The Howland Cultural Center will celebrate its 150th year on May 15, 2022. It will sponsor a fund-raiser to raise money to improve the exterior façade which is in need of repair. I call upon all Beaconites as well as those of you who care about preserving these cultural gems to participate in this important rejuvenation process.
Here is a glimpse of one of the changes coming this year. The doors of the Howland Center will be painted black.
Conclusions
I had fun shooting the Howland Center and viewing the rich textures of both the exterior and the interior. The photos here were shot with Leica cameras and lenses and the iPhone 13 Pro. The photo of the exterior with the black doors was photographed and PhotoShopped (courtesy Jane Soodalter).
If you live in Beacon, or are planning to travel to Beacon, please put the Howland Center on your itinerary. It is right on Main Street, amidst the bustling shops that make Beacon a ‘destination’ in the Hudson Valley.
The Howland Center is now a cultural center hosting a raft of activities, from chamber music concerts, vocal groups, art exhibitions, theatrical productions, and the like.
Here are some relavant links:
Howland Culltural Center website: http://www.howlandculturalcenter.org/
Howland Chamber Music Circle website: https://www.howlandmusic.org/Center.html
Howand Cultural Center Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howland_Cultural_Center
Howland Cultural Center Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/howlandcenterbeacon/
Howland Cultural Center Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/howland_cultural_center/?hl=en
Howland Events Ticket Sales: https://www.onthestage.tickets/howland-cultural-center/
I have a special interest in the evolution of the Howland Center, because my partner, Ronnie Beth Sauers, is a member of the Board of Directors. She is actively participating in both the interior and exterior renovation of this historic building.