1906 Haskell Free Library, Rock Island, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont

[LIB6860] - The library collection and the opera stage are located in Stanstead, but the door and most opera seats are located in Derby Line. Because of this, the Haskell is sometimes called "the only library in the U.S.A. with no books" and "the only opera house in the U.S.A. with no stage". Its two addresses are 93 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont and 1 Rue Church (Church Street), Stanstead, Quebec. A thick black line runs beneath the seats of the opera house and diagonally across the center of the library's reading room to mark the international boundary. The stage and half of the seats are in Canada, the remainder of the opera hall is in the US. The library has a collection of more than 20,000 books in French and English, and is open to the public 38 hours a week. The building is recognized as a historic site in both countries. In the United States, it has been registered in the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. In Canada, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1985 and has been a provincial heritage site since 1977. [Source: Wikipedia]

1954 Denkman Memorial Library, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois

[LIB1568] Frederick Denkmann (1824 – 1905) was an American lumber baron based in Rock Island, Illinois. He teamed up with his brother-in-law Friedrich Weyerhäuser and formed Weyerhäuser-Denkmann Lumber Company.

1911 Public Library, Rock Island, Illinois

[LIB2593]

The building now in use, at 401-19th Street, was completed and opened in 1903. It was first called “Rock Island’s Temple of Literature.” Much of its funding came from the donations of two contemporary Rock Island businessmen, Frederick Denkmann and Frederick Weyerhaeuser, his brother-in-law, who would later become giants in the American lumber business. [Thanks to the Rock Island Public Library]

1917 Denkmann Library, Rock Island, Illinois

[LIB0708]

The Rock Island Public Library holds the distinction of being the oldest public library in the state of Illinois.

[Source: http://ripl.lib.il.us/about.htm]