There is a great deal of interest in the American Civil War. Books on the War number among the most written on a given subject. The causes and consequences are still debated as we approach its 150th anniversary - its Sesquicentennial. Even the name evokes ire and debate - the Civil War (the War of the Great Rebellion in official government records) versus the War of Northern Agression. Lowell and Greater Lowell played a significant part in the War through its soldiers, sailors, leaders, goods, services and philosophical discourse. Thus the Lowell Historical Society, the Pollard Memorial Library, the UML/Center for Lowell History, the Lowell Cemetery, the Hildreth Family Cemetery and other city burial grounds and the city itself are treasure troves of information, artifacts. monuments, grave sites, art, books, stories and tales about this national crisis.

Writers on this blog will be “talking” about the Civil War and its local connections, local repercussions and local “color” as we prepare to commemorate the Sesquicentennial to come. In keeping with Dick’s reference to the refurbished Cyclorama at Gettysburg and Sheila and Hazel’s reminder about the Philippoteaux pieces at the Pollard Memorial Library located on the second floor in the GAR/Memorial Hall, here’s the PML website description of the Hall and its art and its history:

Art at the Library

“Altogether a creditable building” boasted a local newspaper when Lowell’s Memorial Building opened in 1893. The structure was a handsome Richardsonian Romanesque structure, dedicated to the Civil War dead of Lowell. The Memorial Building housed the public library and a large public assembly hall. A disastrous fire in 1915 nearly destroyed this beautiful building, and left the Memorial Hall a blackened ruin. Immediately the city began to rebuild. Frederick W. Stickney, architect of the original structure, planned the reconstruction of Memorial Hall. The budget of $62,927 for the entire building did not permit the restoration of the elaborate coved ceiling, carved oak wainscoting, and massive chandelier of the original hall. Instead a more modest, and modern, design was chosen. The eight original leaded glass commemorative windows were reproduced, at a cost of $1,475. But instead of carved wood, the walls were stenciled and huge murals were installed. Marble and bronze memorial plaques were restored, adding the names of those Lowell men sacrificed in the Spanish-American War. The Hall’s major new embellishments, its three Civil War murals were a bargain. They depict three important experiences in the Civil War career of General U.S. Grant, and were painted by French-born artist Paul Phillipoteaux. Phillipoteaux is best known for his painting of the Cyclorama of Gettysburg, now permanently housed at the Gettysburg National Battlefield. The Memorial Hall canvases were painted for traveling carnival display and were purchased by the City of Lowell for a mere $1,500 from the Griffin Amusement Company.

Years passed, memories of the Civil War faded, and Memorial Hall was eclipsed by other large assembly halls and auditoria in the city. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was used as office space by the Lowell School Department. The rebirth of Lowell in the 1980s provided the impetus for the rehabilitation of many of her historic structures, including the Library’s Memorial Hall. With Federal and private funding the Memorial Hall was restored to its former glory, and served again as an assembly hall and meeting room, hosting art shows, lectures, book festivals and other programs.

The Library’s recent renovation and restoration finds Memorial Hall’s function changed again. Memorial Hall is now home of the Library’s Reference and Local History Department, bringing into vivid portraiture our mission and history as a center for knowledge and history in Lowell.

Check out the website for hours of operation and other information: http://www.pollardml.org/

More to come: Ladd and Whitney, Lowell and the U.S. Sanitary Commission, General Ben Butler, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox, Lowell Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War, Memorials and Monuments, Lowell’s Industrial Production, War Finances much more. Stay tuned.