Friday, May 29, 2009

1915 Carnegie Public Library, Union City, Indiana

[LIB3415] 1915 postcard.

Recent image courtesy of Waymarking.

A ladies' society organized in 1887 brought the first library to Union City. In 1902, the organization was formally incorporated. They requested and received a Carnegie grant to build a library in a park setting on North Columbia Street. The building has been renovated several times over the years. [SOURCE]

The Albert Emanuel Library, University of Dayton, OH

[LIB3414]

Public Library, Warren, Ohio

Dedicated April, 1971. [LIB3413]

Hilton C. Buley Library, Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven CT

[LIB3412]

Named for a distinguished past president of SCSC.

c1905 Kingston City Library, Kingston, New York

[LIB3411]








1959 Library, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL

[LIB3410]








Winter scene, Baker Library, Dartmouth College, NH

[LIB3409]

Baker Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

[LIB3408]










Library, University of NH, Durham, NH

[LIB3407]








1906 Carnegie Library, Delaware, Ohio

1906 postcard. [LIB3406]

2007 image.

From the information I've found this library was built 1902-1906, and was used as the main library until the 1990's. At that time the city decided to build a larger library since they had essentially run out of room. The Carnegie Library was then renovated and turned into the County Commissioners' office, and provides room for the Data Processing Center and staff, the Human Resource Department, 911, and the Emergency Management Agency. One of the most interesting features of the building, to me at least is the huge rotunda, measuring 24 ft. 6 in. x 24 ft. 6 in. and is 26 ft. high, which was restored during renovation. I read that it was previously covered by a drop ceiling. [SOURCE WAYMARKING]

Thursday, May 28, 2009

1922 Rudolf Memorial Library, Capital University, Columbus OH

[LIB3380]

The Rudolf Library was dedicated in June 1915 and was an achievement of President Otto Mees (1912 -1946). “Due to lack of shelf space, lack of reading rooms, and cramped and inadequate offices for the staff” a new library, The Blackmore Library, was built where Recitation Hall once stood. The Blackmore Library opened after Thanksgiving vacation in 1970. The Rudolf Library is now the Kerns Religious Life Center. [This information was provided by Tina Valerius, Web/Reference Librarian, Blackmore Library, Capital University and was extracted from Chronicle of Change: Capital University 1950-2000 by James L. Burke, copyright 2002]

Carnegie Library, Riverside, California

[LIB3379]

16 August 1901
Andrew Carnegie grants Riverside $20,000 for a library building.

1902
Construction begins on the downtown library at the northeast corner of Seventh and Orange Streets. The Mission Revival building is the work of the architectural firm of Burham and Blieser of Los Angeles; the general contractor is J. W. Carroll of Riverside. [SOURCE]

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

L. Nelson Bell Library, Montreat Anderson College, Montreat NC

[LIB3365]

The library is named in honor of Dr. L. Nelson Bell, who was an outstanding missionary, surgeon, author, and a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S. [SOURCE]

Ingalls Memorial Library, Rindge, NH

[LIB3364]

Dedicated June 13, 1895, in memory of Thomas Ingalls.

The Ingalls Memorial Library was built in 1894 and dedicated in 1895. This Victorian building with its 1973 addition stands on historic ground. The original owner was Colonel Nathan Hale of Revolutionary fame. Later the Ingalls homestead and store stood on this spot. The Honorable Rodney Wallace gave the money for the first building and named it in honor of his wife’s family. [SOURCE]

1905 Deborah Cook Sayles Library, Pawtucket, RI

[LIB3363]

The Sayles Building is an impressive example of Greek revival architecture. It was built of the finest-grained white granite, from the quarries at North Jay, Maine. Four massive Ionic columns form a portico at the former entrance. The front doorway of this building is an exact replica of the Erechtheion, a Greek temple on the Acropolis at Athens. The architects were Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson of Boston. Six panels by sculptor Lee Laurie of New York decorate the front of the building. The panels show a comprehensive view of the world’s civilizations. The panels depict scenes from Roman, Grecian, Egyptian, Latin, Anglo-Saxon, and Teutonic civilizations. The Library is known for its decorative ceilings, soaring pillars, and glass-floored North balcony. [SOURCE]

1910 Jewett Norris Library, Trenton, Missouri

[LIB3362]

Jewett Norris, whose generosity was responsible for the library, was born June 11, 1809, on a New Hampshire farm. At the age of 22, he decided to become a pioneer in primitive North Missouri, arriving in what is now Grundy County in 1835. At that time, the area was a part of Carroll County, later becoming part of Livingston County upon its formation in 1837. Grundy County, which then included Mercer County, was established January 29, 1841. [SOURCE]

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hayes Memorial Library, Fremont, Ohio

[LIB3351]

Text not available
The Encyclopedia Americana a library of universal knowledge

1905 Proctor Library, Proctor, VT

[LIB3350]



Text not available
The Bulletin of the Free Public Library Commission and the State Library By Free Public Library Commission, Vermont, Free Public Library Dept, Vermont State Library, Montpelier, Free Public Library Service

1908 Library, Greenwich, CT

[LIB3349]
Text not available
The Connecticut magazine an illustrated monthly By Harry Clemons, William Farrand Felch, George C. Atwell, H. Phelps Arms, Francis Trevelyan Miller

Air University Library, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

[LIB3348]

The largest military library in the world serves the Air University.

The United States Air Force Air University (AU) is a component of the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Air University is the U.S. Air Force’s primary center for professional military education. [WIKIPEDIA]

Public Library, Springfield, MA

[LIB3347]

Library, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia

[LIB3346]

  • 1910 - the Andrew Carnegie Library was the college's first library building. A gift of Mr. Carnegie, it was on the southeast corner of the main quad. That building was demolished in 1986, having served first as library then as a student center ("the Hub") after the new library was constructed.
  • 1935 - In May, 1935, the college Board of Trustees authorized construction of a new library.

  • 1936 - The new library opened in the fall of 1936. Still called the Carnegie Library, it consisted of 4 main floors, a grand reading room, and an attached "stack tower" of 7 floors.

  • 1951 - The library was renamed for James Ross McCain, on the occasion of his retirement as the 2nd President of the College. [SOURCE]

Library, Pasadena, California



[LIB3345]

1906 Library of the Columbia University, New York

[LIB3344]
Addressed to Anthony Monteverde of Sayville, Long Island, New York.

Carnegie Library, Columbus, Ohio

[LIB3343]

November 13, 1903: Groundbreaking ceremony for the new Main Library, made possible with a $200,000 gift from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. [SOURCE]

Friday, May 22, 2009

Did you know?

Postcards are collected by historical societies, libraries and genealogical societies because of their importance in research such as how a city looked at a particular time in history as well as social history.

Did you know? Low Library, Columbia University, NYC

Low Memorial Library was constructed in 1895 as the architectural center of the Morningside Heights campus, and named for Seth Low, a former president of the university. The building
housed the campus library until 1934, and today serves as the location of the office of the president and the Columbia archival collection, as well as the site for the annual awarding of the Pulitzer Prizes.

The Library was designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White,
which was responsible for the design of much of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus.
The steps leading to the library's columned facade are a popular meeting place for Columbia students, as well as home to Daniel Chester French's sculpture, Alma Mater, a university symbol.

Designed in the neo-classical style, incorporating many of the elements of Rome's Pantheon,
the columns on the library's front facade are in the Ionic order, suited to institutions of arts and letters. The 106-foot tall rotunda, formerly the library reading room when the building was used for its original function, is lined with columns of solid green Connemara marble from Ireland, topped with gold capitals.

Low Library's location, atop a plinth of stairs at the centre of campus, was meant to demonstrate the value of the secular pursuit of knowledge as opposed to religion, the role of which was minimised via the subsidiary placement of the university's religious buildings on Low's right and left flanks.

The first building on Columbia's new Morningside campus when it was built in 1895, rising out of cropfields, Low originally served as the university's main library, a role which ended when it was supplanted by the larger Butler Library in 1934, and it now only holds the university's archives in addition to its administrative offices. In 1954, during the University's bicentennial, Low Library was commemorated on a postage stamp.

The William Oxley Thompson Library, Ohio State University, Columbus OH

[LIB3299]

Designed in the Second Italian Renaissance Revival style by the Boston firm of Allen and Collens, the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library--also known as the Main Library--opened in 1913. The library's site was suggested by the Olmsted Brothers, designers of Central Park in New York City. As grand as the new building was, it soon began to reach the limits of its capacity to serve the needs of the growing university.

After World War II, a surge of veterans led to a dramatic increase in enrollment, and the university's administration called for a long-delayed new addition to the library. The 1951 expansion to the west took the form of a new 11-story structure, providing new study space and stack areas.

In 1966, the addition of a mezzanine floor to the once acclaimed reference hall divided it laterally in half. This effort seriously compromised the magnificence of the original building, as did a contemporary addition to the west of the stack tower in 1977. Today, much of the grandeur of the original 1913 building has been lost. With each subsequent addition and renovation, the beautiful features of the original building have become increasingly obscured. [SOURCE]

Wikipedia Article

1909 Lincoln City Library, Lincoln, Nebraska

[LIB3298]

1914 Library, Columbia University, New York City

[LIB3297]

Published by McGown-Silsbee Litho Co.







Thursday, May 21, 2009

Did you know?

Postcards, in the form of government postal cards and privately printed souvenir cards,
became very popular as a result of the Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893,
after postcards featuring buildings were distributed at the fair.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

1906 Public Library, Scranton, PA

[LIB3253]

In 1889, the city of Scranton decided it was ready to start a public library. The city council stipulated that $25,000 be raised by the citizens of Scranton in order to ensure interest in having a public library.

The Citizens' Subscription Fund was started. 141 people contributed over $25,000, ranging in donations of three dollars to over a thousand.

At the same time, as good fortune would have it, a former Scranton resident was looking for a way to memorialize his parents. His name was John Joseph Albright, and he was a resident of Buffalo, NY. His parents, Joseph Jacob and Elizabeth Sellars Albright, had recently passed away.

Mr. Albright and his brother and sisters donated the land on which the Library would be built. It was the site of the old family homestead, on the corner of Vine Street and North Washington Avenue. The building itself was a gift of Mr. Albright, and he asked that it be named after his parents. [SOURCE]


1958 Library, Fifth Ave and 42nd St, New York NY

[LIB3252]

Monday, May 18, 2009

Lithgow Public Library, Augusta, Maine

[LIB3232]

Llewellyn William Lithgow, a man universally respected and beloved, was a life member of the Augusta Literary and Library Association, and at his death, which occurred June 22, 1881, he left to the association the sum of $20,000 for the express purpose of creating a fund, to be known as the Lithgow Library and Reading Room Fund, only the interest of which could be used in establishing and maintaining a "Public Library in the City of Augusta, for the use of the citizensthereof forever, subject to such regulations and rules as the City Government may establish. The principal is never to be suffered to diminish, and if by any contingency the principal shall be reduced, said city of Augusta shall immediately make it good." [SOURCE:
Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine
By George Thomas Little, Henry Sweetser Burrage, Albert Roscoe Stubbs
Published by Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1909
Item notes: v. 2
Original from Harvard University
Digitized Sep 18, 2006
2283 pages. Available on Google Books]

Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

[LIB3231]

Kemp Public Library, Wichita Falls, Texas


[LIB3230]

In the 1890s Flora Anderson Kemp (1861-1957) and other women in Wichita Falls circulated books among friends. After many attempts to begin a library, Mrs. Kemp in 1916 asked her husband, pioneer businessman Joseph Alexander Kemp (1861-1930), for a public library building as a Christmas gift. In 1918 Kemp presented the main structure of this building to the citizens of Wichita Falls. [SOURCE: Texas Historical Marker]

1907 Frederick E. Adams Library, Kingston, MA

[LIB3229]








Friday, May 15, 2009

1908 Bronson's Public Library, Waterbury, Connecticut

[LIB3214]

With a gift from merchant and philanthropist Silas Bronson to his hometown of Waterbury and with the direction of internationally renowned bibliographer William Frederick Poole, the Library Board of Agents established the Silas Bronson Library, the City's library, in 1868. [SOURCE]


1913 Entrance to library, Pacific Park, Long Beach, CA

[LIB3213]

The earliest Long Beach library was founded on Jan. 1, 1896, and was housed in a room adjoining the City Council office at the corner of Pine and Pacific. In 1899, the library moved into the new City Hall next to Pacific Park. A Carnegie Foundation grant was secured to build a new library building, and the park was chosen for the site. In 1909, the new Long Beach library opened, very near the location of the present Main Library. In 1915 Pacific Park was rededicated as Lincoln Park as thousands of onlookers cheered and the U.S.S. Saratoga fired a 21-gun salute. The library in the park was a center of culture in a proud and growing city. [SOURCE]

Pearson Hall, Library, Haverhill NH

[LIB3212]

Built in 1816 to serve both Haverhill Academy and Grafton County Court, this building has seen many modifications and uses by the school from private academy to public elementary school and most recently middle school. [SOURCE]



1907 New Library, University of Maine, Orono ME

[LIB3211]

Carnegie Library, Anderson, South Carolina

[LIB3210]

Post card of the Anderson County Library built in 1908 by the Carnegie Foundation. [SOURCE]

1910 Widener's Library, Philadelphia, PA

[LIB3209]

For Peter A. B. Widener, the family patriarch, Horace Trumbauer designed and erected Lynnewood Hall between 1897 and 1900. At the same time, the architect converted Widener's former mansion at the corner of Broad and Girard Streets in North Philadelphia into the Josephine H. Widener Memorial Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Several years later, Widener presided over Trumbauer's selection as the architect of the central library building. [SOURCE]


1909 Library, Kingston, New York

[LIB3208]

Now the Library of Kingston Hospital. This was originally a Carnegie Library.