File:James Prendergast Library, Jamestown, New York - 20210131.jpg

English: The James Prendergast Library, 509 Cherry Street at West 5th Street, Jamestown, New York, January 2021. A fine example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, architect Andrew Jackson Warner used the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia as his design inspiration (which, in turn, was inspired by H.H. Richardson's Crane Library in Quincy, Massachusetts). The rough-texture stone façade, heavy massing, the narrow round-arched windows in the gable, and (above all) the robust Syrian arch framing the entrance are all typical features of the style. Witness also the ruddy Medina sandstone that appears in bands across the façade and as trim around the windows and doors, providing an interesting color contrast while also accentuating the building's horizontal orientation and aforementioned heavy massing. The library was erected between 1889 and 1891 and was donated to the city in memory of James Prendergast (1848-1879), an upstart local attorney and grandson of the identically named city founder. It was for many years not only the center of Jamestown's literary scene, but also a cultural nexus in a larger sense, still serving a secondary function as the city's art gallery.