Aldrich Public Library, public library in Barre, Vermont

The Aldrich Public Library is a two-story steel-frame building with brick veneer and local granite trim at the northeast corner of Washington and Elm Streets in Barre, Vermont. Its three-bay front has a projecting center entrance recessed between Ionic columns, topped by a granite frieze and a balconied three-part window. Banded brick pilasters with Doric capitals articulate the bays, and the entrance stair is flanked by granite sidewalls with original Beaux-Arts iron globe lights.

The library was built in 1907-1908 using funds from Leonard Frost Aldrich's estate, a local businessman who wanted to support this project before his death in 1898. Earlier book collections appeared around 1848 in local shops, later evolving into two subscription libraries that eventually merged into the institution that exists today.

The library's name honours Leonard Frost Aldrich, the businessman whose bequest paid for the 1907–08 building and its books. It merged two earlier subscription collections: the Barre Library Association of 1873 and the French Barre Library, founded in 1887 for the city's French-speaking granite workers. The 2000 addition enlarged the building.

The building sits in the heart of downtown at the corner of Washington and Elm Streets, easily accessible on foot from most neighborhoods. Parking is available nearby, and the entrance is reached by granite steps bordered by iron globe lights that guide the way.

The city council wanted the whole facade faced in local granite, Barre's main industry, but the cost was prohibitive; architect Penn Varney of Lynn, Massachusetts, compromised with brick trimmed in granite. The entrance stair is flanked by granite sidewalls topped with original Beaux-Arts iron globe lights.