Oliver Ames Free Library designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, North Easton, Massachusetts, 1883

The Ames Free Library is an example of late 19th-century design that favored medieval-style architecture with Romanesque arches, heavy stone massing and irregular hand-crafted workmanship. Richardson, who collaborated at times with the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, popularized the "rustic" naturalistic style that the National Park Service later adapted for its park structure designs. Look for Richardson's influence throughout CCC buildings and structures, such as in the arches and stone work of refectories at Longhorn Cavern and Lake Corpus Christi State Parks.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division