Friday, September 10, 2010

1940 Public Library, Baraboo, Wisconsin

[LIB0236] - In 1903 Baraboo Public Library opened at 230 4th Avenue. Previous to 1903, the library was housed in a room at the City Building. The library was chartered by the State of Wisconsin in 1895.
The 6,000 sq. ft. building was designed by Louis Claude of the Madison firm, Claude and Stark. Louis spent his youth at his parents' home at Devil's Lake, giving special meaning to his selection as the architect. A $15,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie made the construction possible. Karl Isenberg, a local contractor, was the builder. Architecturally, the building is of the neo-classical style with an exterior of brick and limestone. The roof is of clay tile. Interior features of note are the red oak woodwork and a frieze in the east reading room, originally the children's room, that is a copy of "The Dancing Boys" by Della Robbia. There are two fireplaces, one upstairs and one downstairs. Read more about the Baraboo Public Library here.

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