Taking a relaxing cruisethrough the west Michigan city of Muskegon one will quickly realize that the name “Hackley” seems to be everywhere. Stately Victorian mansions, parks and several public buildings all bear the name of one of the most successful lumbermen in history. Charles H. Hackley arrived in Muskegon in 1857 with almost no money but left an estate worth over $18 million at his death in 1905. His beginnings were humble, as a lumber mill worker, shoveling sawdust into a boiler for a monthly wage of $22. He learned the lumber business, took a bookkeeping course and joined his father in the formation of the lumbering firm, Hackley and Sons. He eventually formed the partnership of Hackley and Hume which became one of the largest lumbering operations in the U.S.
Hackley’s philanthropy resulted in over $12 million in gifts to the Muskegon community. In his own words “A rich man to a great extent owes his fortune to the public. He makes money largely through the labor of his employees….Moreover, I believe that it should be expended during the lifetime of the donor….To a certain extent, I agree with Mr. Carnegie….that it is a crime to die rich.”
Hackley’s first gift, in 1888, was to build a grand public library on the corner of West Webster Avenue and Third Street in the city of Muskegon. Originally intending to donate the lumber to construct the edifice, Hackley opted instead to use fireproof stone masonry as the primary building material. The structure was designed by the Chicago architectural firm Patton and Fisher in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The exterior features rusticated blue-gray granite and trims of terracotta sandstone. The darker stone accentuates the richly varying windows and creates horizontal beltlines at the floor planes. The building’s massing is asymmetrical with an immense octagonal tower marking the corner of the intersecting streets.
Each street elevation features gabled façades, that although similar in scale, feature striking distinctions in treatment of the window openings, creating variation in scale and cadence. The half-round arch, a mainstay of the Richardsonian style, is utilized throughout the building. The most striking and monumental of these marks the library’s main entrance, where it is framed by elaborately carved stone reliefs and is located atop monumental stairs from the street level.
Inside, the primary axis of the library’s cruciform plan culminates to the north at The Great Hall which boasts a skylit coffered ceiling and a magnificent 12 panel stained-glass window depicting four of Hackley’s favorite literary figures: Shakespeare, Goethe, Longfellow, and Prescott. To the east of the Great Room is an unobtrusive addition, constructed five years after the building opened to house book stacks for the library’s rapidly expanding collection. The space features original shelving and an impressive, almost two-inch-thick, glass floor/ ceiling between the two floor levels which provides natural illumination throughout the stacks.
In addition to its importance to the overall massing of the building’s exterior, the octagonal tower also serves as an important interior element, providing the primary vertical circulation path between the floor levels of the building. Within the tower, an ornate metal staircase hugs the marble lined walls, while leaded-glass windows and ribbed vaulting at the ceiling create a serene, introspective, atmosphere. Finely detailed metalwork appears throughout the building in the form of custom hinges and doorknobs, many featuring the monogram “HPL” for Hackley Public Library.
The second floor features a large barrel-vaulted space which forms the transept of the cruciform plan (the “arms” of the cross). The space was originally a large meeting room but was converted to its current use as the Children’s Room. Before the renovation in 1922, children under 14 years of age had not been permitted to use the library.
The Hackley Public Library’s materials and scale create a sense of permanence, strength, and presence. The building has been an enduring gift to the community and is open to the public Monday through Saturday. For more information visit the library’s website at www.hackleylibrary.org
The Library is also featured in this month’s MAF Architecture Road Trip: https://michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/maf-michigan-architecture-road-trip-2024-historic-west-michigan/