[LIB3610]
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Helen Decker Blough Public Library, Hawley, PA
[LIB3609]"The building at 103 Main Ave., Hawley, Pa. 18248 was dedicated on October 30, 1966." [Back of card]
The same building is still in use.
1911 Carnegie Library, Claremont, NH
[LIB3607]Samuel P. Fiske established the Fiske Free Library in 1873 with 2,000 volumes from his personal library and $5,000 for the purchase of additional books. An additional $5,000 was given by Mr. and Mrs. Fiske to establish a permanent trust fund. Housed first in Stevens High School, the library moved in 1877 into the Bailey Block with more room and easier access. By 1902 space was again tight and Andrew Carnegie was approached for funding. In 1903, with $15,000 in funding from Carnegie, ground was broken for the present building. An addition in 1922 and a full renovation in 1966 expanded the entire building for library use. [SOURCE]
Vintage Pleasant Street Claremont NH Postcard by aapshop
Look at Vintage Postcards online at Zazzle.com
Public Library, Mattoon, IL
[LIB3606]The Mattoon Public Library was formed by a group of interested citizens in 1893. Ten years later in 1903 the library moved into its current location. The library was built with funds from Andrew Carnegie and is one of the many Carnegie libraries in central Illinois.
In 1995 an addition was built onto the main building. The people involved with the renovation wanted to keep the original feel of the building and unlike many other Carnegie libraries, the addition closely matches the original. Unless someone is looking for it, it can be hard to tell what parts of the library is the old building and which are the new. [SOURCE]
Library Reading Room, El Camino College, Torrance, CA
[LIB3605]The reserve reading room of the library.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
1956 Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library, Felton, CA
[LIB3602]The structure that is now the Felton Branch Library was built as the Presbyterian Church in Felton in 1893. Constructed in a traditional, New England style the building served the Presbyterians until 1955, when a larger facility was built nearby.
The vacant building was then purchased by Nick and Faye G. Belardi with the intent of dismantling the structure and building a family home on the site. Negotiations for purchasing the building were underway when Mrs. Belardi was killed in an auto accident in August of 1955. Following Mrs. Belardi's death, Mr. Belardi offered the building and site to the community as a memorial to his wife. Renovated by March 1956, the Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library was formally opened on April 15, 1956.
The Felton Branch celebrated its 50th anniversary in April, 2006. At 116 years of age, this is the oldest branch building in the City-County Library System and is a major landmark in the town of Felton, California. [SOURCE]
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Butterfield Library, Cold Spring, NY
[LIB3598]The Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library was established by the will of the late Julia L. Butterfield. Mrs. Butterfield died on August 6, 1913 at the age of 90.
Wilmington Public Library, Wilmington, Ohio
[LIB3595]Members of the George Clinton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, founded the Wilmington Library Association in 1899 and opened the "Wilmington Library" that summer with 500 books in two rooms on Main Street in a building owned by the First National Bank of Wilmington.
By their efforts and a $1,000 a year support levy from Wilmington village council, the library association secured a $12,500 grant from Andrew Carnegie, and in June 1904 the Wilmington Public Library opened on the site it occupies today. [SOURCE]
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Presidential Room, Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, MO
[LIB3594]"Table in the Presidential Room of the Museum on which the United Nations Charter was signed June 26, 1945." [Back of card]
The Rutherford B. Hayes Library, Fremont, Ohio
[LIB3593]"The Library's museum, occupying two floors, contains many personal items from the lives of President and Mrs. Hayes and their children. There is also a research library for the Hayes period in American history, containing many thousands of books and manuscripts." [Back of card]
1963 Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
[LIB3592]Gorgas Library is named after Amelia Gayle Gorgas, who was UA's first female librarian and served the University as hospital matron, librarian, and postmistress for 25 years until her retirement at the age of 80 in 1907.
The main steps to Gorgas Library from the Quad cover the ruins of the antebellum library that was burned during the Civil War. [SOURCE]
See also entry LIB2399.
Monday, July 13, 2009
1904 Library and Lyceum, Morristown, NJ
[LIB3589]The Morristown/Township Library was constructed in 1917 after a devastating fire destroyed the original Library and Lyceum. Grinnell Willis, a local philanthropist, personally funded the construction of Edward L. Tilton´s Gothic Revival design, and donated the facility to the town. The cornerstone, put in place on August 5, 1916, contains a copper box which included photographs of Mr. Willis, coins, newspapers, and photos of Morristown. In 1986, the architectural firm of Shor and Ford was hired to build an additional wing to accommodate the needs of this growing library.
1909 Public Library, Stillwater, MN
[LIB3588]The Stillwater Public Library was established in 1897. The original building was constructed in 1902 on the current site with funds provided by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. An addition was built in 1973 with financial support from the Margaret Rivers Foundation. The building was completely renovated in 1987.
1904 Carnegie Library, Perth Amboy, NJ
[LIB3587]From 1888, the Library has been housed in five different buildings. The Library was built on its present site on Jefferson Street, in 1901, on land donated by J. C. McCoy, of the Raritan Copper Works and constructed with the aid of a $20,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, a $1,000 donation from Adolph Lewisohn to purchase new books, and an agreement by the City to provide for the Library’s upkeep.
On December 9, 1903, the building, the first in New Jersey to be the beneficiary of Mr. Carnegie’s generosity, was opened to the Public. The growth of the Library from that time was so marked, that in 1914, the Carnegie Corporation donated an additional $30,000 for the creation of two reading rooms. A Children’s Library was built in 1925, unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1977, and was not rebuilt. The present Children’s Library is located in the basement of our building, in an area formerly used as a meeting room and theater. A branch Library was established in the Shull School building in 1925 and closed decades later when the school system required additional room for classroom use.
Saint John (Canada) Carnegie Building sentinel of culture still grand at 105
Thanks to the Telegraph-Journal for this story: More than a century after Andrew Carnegie financed a free public library in the Port City, the red sandstone building endures as a monument to the philanthropist's belief in the enriching power of culture and learning. [Read the story here.]
Old Carnegie Branch Library Sitting Covered In Weeds
Thanks for this story from brokensidewalk.com, Louisville KY: The old Jefferson Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library is one of the original nine Carnegie libraries in Louisville. Built in 1912 and opened in 1913, the building now sits forlorn on one corner of Western Cemetery on Jefferson Street near 17th Street. [Read the rest of the story, including additional photos]
Thursday, July 9, 2009
1950 Public Library, Camden,Maine
[LIB3586]The proud townspeople of Camden raised the money to build this library through various fund raising efforts. No assistance was provided by noted library philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Mary Louise Curtis Bok of Camden and Philadelphia donated the land for the library in 1916. Parker Morse Hooper and Boston architect Charles G. Loring offered building plans. The cornerstone was laid August 17, 1927 and the Camden Public Library opened its doors on June 11, 1928 with Miss Katherine W. Harding serving as the first librarian. [SOURCE]
Public Library, Lynn, MA
[LIB3585]Published by the Valentine-Souvenir Co., New York. Printed in the United States. This card is addressed to Mrs. Emily Emery, Monroe, NH
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC
[LIB3584]Administered by the Trustees of Amherst College. This post card shows the Library, Paul Philippe Cret, architect.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Women, Andrew Carnegie helped build Idaho libraries
Women, Andrew Carnegie helped build Idaho libraries Eight of Idaho's Carnegie library buildings still stand. Several are used for other purposes now that their towns have new and larger buildings. When Pocatello's Marshall Public Library was built, it incorporated the old Carnegie building. Five Carnegie libraries, including those in Boise, Caldwell, Pocatello and Moscow, are listed in the National Register of Historic places.
1909 City Library, Manchester NH
[LIB3581]Soon after the death of his wife Elenora Blood Carpenter in January, 1910, the president of Amoskeag Paper Mill Frank Pierce Carpenter offered to construct a library building in her memory.
Frank Carpenter spared no expense in the planning and construction of the new library building. He hired architects Edward L. Tilton of New York and Edgar A.P. Newcomb of Honolulu to design the Italian Renaissance style building which would serve not only the then present needs but growth over many subsequent decades. [SOURCE]
1962 B.S. Ricks Memorial Library, Yazoo City, MS
[LIB3580]Mrs. B. S. Ricks was a woman with many philanthropic interests. From providing scholarships to funding the summer school programs at the University of Mississippi, Mrs. Ricks left a legacy of her generosity. Her most impressive gift was left to the citizens of Yazoo County in the form of a public library.
In 1900 Mrs. Ricks funded the construction of the B. S. Ricks Memorial Library. The $20,000 structure, named in memory of her late husband, is a work of art that is "Classic in design, chaste in ornamentation, graceful in outline, simple in adaptation."
Opened to the public in 1901 and formally dedicated January 1, 1902, the Ricks Memorial Library continues to serve Yazoo County and Yazoo City as a public library. [SOURCE]
Public Library, Leavenworth, Kansas
[LIB3578]In 1899 citizens of Leavenworth approved an annual levy for library maintenance. Subsequently, in 1900 Andrew Carnegie pledged $25,000 for the construction of the Carnegie Building located at 5th & Walnut Streets. Leavenworth was one of the first five cities in Kansas to receive a Carnegie building. [SOURCE]
1915 Public Library, Marshalltown, Iowa
[LIB3577]The Marshalltown Public library was established as a free municipal library in 1898. It moved to the building at 36 N. Center Street in 1902 after Andrew Carnegie donated $30,000 for the construction of a new library building. The Leise Addition, just west of the original Carnegie building, was added in 1975. The library's current building, at 105 West Boone Street, was completed in December 2008.
1906 Library, Columbia University, New York
[LIB3576]
I really like this card! Here is what I find fascinating. First, the sender asked, "Wait for me to night?" I wondered if this was a hand-delivered card or if it was actually sent. If it was sent, did the sender assume it would reach the recipient the same day? As you can see, this card was mailed. Notice the New York postmark, dated 30 May 1906 at 1:30 p.m. The card is addressed to Adeline Jackson, Danbury, Connecticut. Imagine that, no street address! So, the post office knew where Ms. Jackson resided (though the card does say c/o McLean Bros.). Notice next that the card is postmarked at Danbury, same day, at 6:30 p.m.! The sender really did expect the card to arrive on the same day!
1909 Public Library, Mayville, North Dakota
[LIB3575]North Dakota received eleven of the more than 1,800 libraries underwritten by Andrew Carnegie, three for its colleges and eight as public facilites. Of those eleven buildings, three were designed by architect William C. Albrant [1871-1905], the public libraries at Mayville (1900) and Valley City (1902), and the library at the Agricultural College (1905; now NDSU), all of them in the prevailing classical revival style. Taken together, they also represent a young architect's developing design capabilities. [SOURCE]
National Register of Historic Places details for this library, click here.
ALBRANT, William C. (1871-1905), an architect of Fargo, North Dakota, was born in Winchester, Ontario on 24 June 1871 and moved west after 1895 to briefly engage in farming activity before registering at North Dakota State University in the Division of Mechanical Arts (a forerunner of the School of Architecture at that institution). He opened his own office in Fargo, North Dakota in 1900, and obtained his first important commission in Canada in 1904 for the City Hall, MOOSE JAW, SASK. (Moose Jaw Times, 5 Jan. 1905). This imposing but somewhat eclectic work, with its domed tower, remained a distinctive civic landmark in that city for nearly a decade until the completion of the Post Office in 1913. Albrant also designed N.J. Porter's Photographic Studio, MOOSE JAW, SASK., (1905; altered), and was responsible for several major designs in Fargo including First Baptist Church (1904), the Normal School at Maryville State College (1904), and the Carnegie Library buildings at Fargo, Valley City and at Grandin, North Dakota. He died suddenly on 3 August 1905 at Fargo, N.D. (obituary in Fargo Forum, 3 & 4 Aug. l905; inf. from Ronald L.M. Ramsay, Fargo, N.D.). [Additional information provided by Bill Albrant]
1905 Public Library, Hallowell, Maine
[LIB3574]The Hubbard Free Library is housed in the oldest library building in Maine still serving its original function. Designed by local architect Alexander C. Currier to look like an English country church, the library was dedicated in March, 1880, as the Hallowell Social Library. In 1893 General Thomas H. Hubbard of New York City, a Hallowell native, donated $20,000 for the construction of a free library. The money was used to build an addition to the existent building, in the form of a cross-axial transept, in keeping with the original church design, and the library became the Hubbard Free Library. A second addition was added in 1897, with money donated by Mrs. Eliza Lowell of Hallowell.
On the National Register of Historic Places since 1970, with an impressive collection of historic artifacts and archival materials, the library today is also a vibrant and much-cherished participant in the life of the communities it serves. [SOURCE]
Thursday, July 2, 2009
1915 Carnegie Library, Parsons, Kansas
[LIB3573]1907 - The voters of Parsons approved the question of establishing a free city library. Andrew Carnegie was contacted, and agreed to give $22,500 for the construction of a new building if the city provided the site and pledged annual support. A site at the corner of Broadway and Seventeenth Streets was purchased for $6,500, the funds being raised by subscriptions. The following year, E.F. Parker, a Kansas City architect, was hired, and the city council approved a resolution to levy the first library tax in Parsons.
1909 - The dream of having a free public library in Parsons was finally realized, and the new Carnegie Library building was officially opened in ceremonies on May 18. The building, one story with a basement, was built of Carthage stone backed with concrete, with a clay tile roof, dome, and copper gutters. The style was primarily derived from Beaux-Arts Classicism, and has a rather elaborate entrance that employs a Serliana motif with Ionic columns. The name “Carnegie Library” is carved above the entrance. At opening, the library had 3,655 volumes. [SOURCE]
1956 Tucker Free Library, Henniker, NH
[LIB3572]The Tucker Free Library has proudly served
the town of Henniker since the early 1900's.
The library is located in an architecturally beautiful
building completed in 1903. This magnificent building is
adorned with outstanding interior woodwork, furnishings,
stenciling and historical items that are worthy
of a visit in their own right. [SOURCE]
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