The second floor contains HSL’s magnificent Austin Flint Main Reading Room, as well as our collection of printed books. Several computer stations are also located just off the elevator.
During renovation of Abbott Hall from 1983-85, care was taken to preserve the Reading Room so it currently appears much as it was when first built. The design was modeled from a room in Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England, built in the first decade of the 17th century for Sir Robert and William Cecil, Earls of Salisbury.
The oak fireplace mantel is hand-carved and modeled after a 15th Century mantel found in Canonbury Tower, London, England.
The woodwork is not signed, but was carved by the Lipsett brothers, immigrants from Germany who worked for the Kittinger Company, a famous Buffalo institution who produced furniture for the White House. The company still practices its craft in the area.
Both chandeliers were salvaged from the John J. Albright’s Tudor mansion (also built by E.B. Green), which was under demolition during construction of the original Lockwood building in the 1930s.
