Tyrrell Public Library
Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1903 as the First Baptist Church, this limestone structure replaced a red brick church on the same site. Architect of the Romanesque Revival style edifice was A. N. Dawson and contractor was G. D. Patterson. In 1923, when the Baptist congregation moved to larger facilities, Capt. William C. Tyrrell purchased the building and donated it to the city for use as a public library. It now (1976) houses an historical and genealogical collection. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This limestone building rose in 1903 as Beaumont's First Baptist Church, a Romanesque Revival design by architect A. N. Dawson. When the congregation outgrew it in 1923, Capt. William C. Tyrrell bought the structure and gave it to the city as a public library. By the 1970s it housed a historical and genealogical collection, a graceful reuse of a landmark church.
Why it matters
It shows how a private gift and adaptive reuse turned a church into a public institution, preserving both a piece of architecture and the civic ideal of the free library.
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Related people
- · William C. Tyrrell
- · A. N. Dawson
Themes & tags
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