The Old Library By Lake Afton, Yardley, PA, Painterly
by Liesl Walsh
Title
The Old Library By Lake Afton, Yardley, PA, Painterly
Artist
Liesl Walsh
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photograph
Description
This is one of the cutest little buildings in historic Yardley, Pennsylvania. Sitting on the banks of Lake Afton, The Old Library is in the center of town only a few blocks from the Delaware River in Bucks County. It's an iconic landmark in town. I drove by this library all the time on my way to work as an art teacher years ago. It adds so much poetic charm to the city. In the distance you can see the steeple of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.
The library has a very interesting history. It was built in 1878 on land donated by the heirs of William Yardley who settled in the area in 1682 on land purchased from William Penn. The building style is carpenter Gothic with a steep gable roof, decorative slate work, and pointed arched windows. The design might have been copied from an old 18th century volume of poetry. The original Yardleyville Library Company was established in 1845 and was located in a room over Samuel Slack's general store (the site of the present Continental Tavern). Mr Slack was the librarian with an annual salary of $1.00.
The Old Library was a small space so its 75,000 collection of books were stuffed from floor to ceiling, and stored in the basement and balcony. One of the librarians Doris Chapman says, "Where would you find a more picturesque scene in the summer than little boys fishing on the banks of the Lake or parents on their way to the Library with small children and bags of corn or bread to feed the ducks, or the children in the house across the lake paddling their canoe to the Library or watching the growth of families of ducks in the spring. When we saw cars backed up with patient motorist, we knew the problem. A duck decided to rest in the middle of the road and was reluctant to move. Often we guided them to the Lake. We were labled by some of the Library patrons as the "Keepers of the Ducks."
In the winter when the pond was frozen people would ice skate, even at night when flood lights were installed. It was hectic sharing the parking spaces with library patrons. Skaters blocked the porch steps while putting on their skates. Librarians would rescue frozen ducks on the ice.
The library used the building on Lake Afton for 100 years from 1878 to 1978 when it moved to the Bucks County Library outside of town in Lower Makefield Township.
Since 1977 the Yardley Historical Association has been maintaining the Old Library and is using it as its headquarters. They rent out the space for special events.
I have a few versions of this photo that are both in color and black and white, and each have another painterly version made with brush strokes and canvas texture.
SOLD:
1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle to buyer in Yardley, PA on 11-22-2022. Thank you!
500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle to buyer in Warminster, PA on 12-17-2022. Thank you!
40 x 26.5 Metal print to buyer in Wyomissing, PA on 5-3-2023. Thank you!
Featured in the following FAA Groups:
Fine Art America Professionals 8-3-2022
Fine Art Exploration Photography 8-3-2022
Fine Art University of Painting 8-3-2022
Only Doors and Windows 8-5-2022
Your Story of Art 8-5-2022
Hodge Podge 8-6-2022
Waiting Room Art 8-7-2022
New FAA Uploads 8-8-2022
Bedroom Art Gallery 8-9-2022
Just Perfect 8-20-2022
Photographic Camera Art 9-1-2022
Photography Evolution 9-8-2022
Weekly Fun For All Art Mediums 10-4-2022
Created by Southern Artists 11-23-2022
Uploaded
August 3rd, 2022
Statistics
Viewed 702 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/27/2024 at 11:44 AM
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Comments (9)
Liesl Walsh
Thank you to the buyer from Wyomissing, PA who purchased a 40 x 26.5 metal print of this image on 5-3-2023! I hope you enjoy it very much!
Luther Fine Art
Congratulations! Your fantastic photographic art has been chosen as a Camera Art Group feature! You are invited to archive your work in the feature archive discussion. There are many other discussions in the group where you can promote your art even further more.
Liesl Walsh
Thank you to the buyer from Warminster, PA who purchased a small 500 piece jigsaw puzzle of this image on 12-17-2022! I hope you enjoy it very much!
Liesl Walsh
Thank you to the buyer from Yardley, PA who purchased a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of this image on 11-21-2022! I hope you enjoy it very much!
Soraya D'Apuzzo
Congratulations! Your fantastic artwork has been chosen as a Photography Evolution Group feature! You are invited to archive your artwork in the "Archive 2022" discussion. There are many other discussions in the group where you can promote your art even further more.