Bangor Library’s Death Couch

New England Legends Podcast

Jeff Belanger

Places & Travel, History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2022

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 268, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the Bangor Public Library in Maine, in search of a couch where former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin drew his last breath. The couch has become a macabre attraction in the library due to its connection with presidential royalty… but you can’t sit on it! What happened? And how did it get here?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Wow, the Bangor Public Library is a gorgeous building, Jeff.
0:10.8	It is.
0:11.8	And now right in the middle is this domed glass structure over a rotunda that allows in plenty of sunlight.
0:17.3	And there's marble columns, there's tons of books.
0:19.9	There's a cafe and art gallery.
0:21.9	I mean, this might be the nicest library I've ever seen.
0:25.0	They've spared no expense, and the place is huge.
0:28.4	It almost looks like a state house that you might find in a capital city.
0:32.0	It does.
0:32.8	So let's head upstairs to the circulation desk.
0:38.5	Are we looking for a book?
0:40.1	Maybe something by Stephen King, who lives in town?
0:42.8	Right, right.
0:43.7	No, we're not looking for a book.
0:45.3	We're looking for a couch you can't sit on.
0:48.4	Wait, a couch we can't sit on?
0:50.6	What's the point of that?
0:52.1	Well, it's more of a museum piece now.
0:54.6	This couch is where a former United States vice president drew his last breath.
1:04.4	Hello, I'm Jeff Belanger, and welcome to episode 268 of the New England Legends podcast.
1:10.0	And I'm Ray Ozier.
1:12.0	Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. We're glad you're with us in our
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jeff Belanger, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jeff Belanger and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.