This cornice was removed from the Greenfield (Massachusetts) Public Library in 1978, during renovations. The library was originally housed in the town hall. Its expanding collections, including a Polish-language section, were increasingly crowded into these tight quarters. After significant debate, the town voted to purchase the house owned for many years by Dr. George Hovey and his wife, a property vacated by her death in 1906. The core of the house had been designed and built in 1798, by Asher Benjamin (1773?-1845), publisher of the first book of American architecture, for Judge Jonathan Leavitt. The building was renovated for the library with an eye toward restoring its original form. A bay window added onto the original structure was removed and the wings of the house were rebuilt. The building today is an example of the emerging Federal style of architecture. It no longer serves as a library.