Haskell Free Library and Opera House
| Haskell Free Library and Opera House | |
|---|---|
| Native name Bibliothèque et salle d'opéra Haskell | |
Haskell Free Library and Opera House
|
|
| Location |
 Stanstead, Quebec Derby Line, Vermont
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| Coordinates | 45°0′20.81″N 72°5′51.70″W / 45.0057806°N 72.0976944°WCoordinates: 45°0′20.81″N 72°5′51.70″W / 45.0057806°N 72.0976944°W |
| Built | 1904–1905 |
| Architect | Nate Beach & James Ball |
| Architectural style(s) | Romanesque Revival, Victorian, Queen Anne Revival |
| Official name: Haskell Free Library and Opera House National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated | 15 November 1985 |
| Designated | 8 September 1976 |
| Reference no. | 76000143 |
| Official name: Édifice Haskell Free Library and Opera House | |
| Type | Classified heritage immovable |
| Designated | 22 December 1977 |
| Reference no. | 93138 |
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House (French: Bibliothèque et salle d'opéra Haskell) is a neoclassical building that straddles the international border in Rock Island (now part of Stanstead), Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont. The Opera House opened on June 7, 1904, and was deliberately built on the border between Canada and the United States. It was declared a heritage building by both countries in the 1970s.
The library has two different addresses: 93 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont, and 1 rue Church (Church Street), Stanstead, Quebec.
The library collection and the opera stage are located in Stanstead, but the main entrance and most opera seats are located in Derby Line. Because of this, the Haskell is sometimes called "the only library in the U.S.A. with no books" and "the only opera house in the U.S.A. with no stage". Another entrance is accessible directly from Canada, and used to be a backdoor to the stage before, but reconstructed in 2013 in order to remain open to its Canadian visitors without the need to report to customs and immigration of either country.
A thick black line runs beneath the seats of the opera house and diagonally across the center (or centre) of the library's reading room to mark the international boundary. The stage and half of the seats are in Canada, the remainder of the opera hall is in the US. The building has different postal codes (93 Caswell Avenue, 05830 and 1, rue Church (Church Street), J0B 3E2) and different telephone area codes (+1-802-873-3022 and +1-819-876-2471) in its two respective countries.
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