One natural outcome of the educational reform movement of the 1840s was the growth of the American public library. Though the first public libraries were housed in post offices and town halls, even in local drug stores, growing book collections soon forced cities and towns to recognize the need for larger, more appropriate buildings, some 450 of which were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The most important and influential architect of the era was Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886), perhaps best known for his design of Boston's Trinity Church.