Trading Places

Trading Places. . In 1839 this Greek Revival building opened its doors to the public, not as the library it is today, but as New Bedford's town hall. When the growing town reached city size in 1847 the granite building became City Hall. Vendors sold produce and meats from stalls in the basement, and for many years this area was called Market Square., The New Bedford Free Public Library in 1857 occupied the upper floors of the brick and brownstone building across William Street (to your right), which is New Bedford's present-day City Hall. The switch came after the old City Hall caught fire in 1906. Since both institutions had outgrown their spaces, librarian George H. Tripp proposed trading places. The library moved into the granite building and City Hall took the brownstone, expanding it to serve the growing needs of a city that had tripled in population since 1855., Captions: , . (Background) This photograph was taken in 1870 when City Hall operated out of the granite building and the public library was in the noticeably smaller brownstone building across William Street. Photo courtesy New Bedford Whaling Museum , . (Top right) When the new library cornerstone was laid in August 1908, this staff photograph was placed within it. Photo courtesy Trustees New Bedford Free Public Library