MAY
01

The Haskell Free Library: Built on a Gesture of Friendship Between Canada and the U.S.

haskell_1.jpgA little-known library that sits on the Vermont and Quebec border emphasizes a peaceful co-existence between the U.S. and Canada. In fact the Haskell Free Library and Opera House even has two different street addresses. The Canadian address is 1 Church Street, Rock Island, Quebec, and the United States address is 7 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont. The library also has two official languages, English and French, and the entrance to the front door is in Vermont, while the back door exits into Canada.

The library and opera house is a quaint, charming and unique place to visit with the opera house dominating the upstairs. The stage is in Canada, and the seats are in the United States. The lower floor is a community library with the lobby in Vermont and countless shelves of books in Canada. Both countries share the reading room as it sits equally between the two.

haskell_2.jpgConfusion over the border or property lines was not the reason for the library being built in two countries, it was due to Martha Haskell and her son Horace, who built the library in honor of their husband and father, Carlos. He had been a prominent American merchant, and she was a Canadian. Martha had friends and acquaintances on both sides of the border, and not wanting to offend anyone, she decided to build a cultural center that was in both countries instead of building two different structures. She thought the idea over, and decided that an opera house would help to support the library.

The construction of the building on the border was a gesture of heartfelt friendship. The idea was conceived solely by Martha and not by a board or committee of which certain members would probably have objected to such an eccentric structure. This would definitely have been a drawback for both the US and Canada.

haskell_3.jpgThe Haskell Free Library and Opera House may be the only structure of its kind in the entire world, and it is simply gorgeous with its turn of the century details that take your breath away with plaster cherubs embellishing the balcony. The pink and white ceiling where an original chandelier hangs, is made of pressed tin, and the curtains roll up manually by cords and handpainted pulleys. It is believed to be the only existing works of Erin La Mass, a renowned Boston artist. The building as well as the props are in top condition and all are welcome to get a view of the beautiful one of a kind structure.

Ottawa and Washington have declared the library and opera house as "no man's land." Patrons do not have to report to customs after using it, and the only eveidence that the library straddles two different countries is a a thin, black, diagonal line on the hardwood floor. The line depicts the 49th parallel, the invisible boundary that separates Canada and the United States. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty between the United States and Canada established this section of the border in 1846.

image credit: Kables

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