Ayer Public Library (Delavan, Illinois)

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Ayer Public Library
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Location208 Locust St., Delavan, Illinois
Coordinates 40°22′27″N89°32′49″W / 40.37417°N 89.54694°W / 40.37417; -89.54694
Arealess than one acre
Built1914 (1914)
Built byLillibridge, Ray
ArchitectSimmons, A.T.
Architectural styleClassical Revival
MPS Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS
NRHP reference No. 98001352 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 12, 1998

The Ayer Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 208 Locust Street in Delavan, Illinois.

Contents

History

The library was the city's fifth attempt at forming a library; it succeeded and assumed the collection of a library founded in 1902 by the Blue Button Army temperance organization. When the Blue Button library closed in 1907, supporter Amos K. Ayer called for the city to establish a permanent public library.

With Ayer's financial backing, a library for all citizens of Delavan Township was approved in 1907; [2] [3] however, it used a temporary space and lacked a permanent home until the city applied to the Carnegie Foundation for assistance in 1912. After a protracted misunderstanding with James Bertram, who expected a city library tax and did not understand that the township provided tax support, the Foundation provided a $10,000 grant for the library and construction began in 1914. [4] The Classical Revival library opened later in the year; it remains open to this day. [5] [4]

The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1998. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Delavan Community Historical Society (1976). Delavan: A Bicentennial Community. Delavan Community Historical Society. p. 44.
  3. Federal Writer's Project. Illinois (1937). Delavan, 1837-1937: a chronicle of 100 years. p. 73.
  4. 1 2 Skaggs, Robyn (2022-10-06). "On the books: Carnegie libraries of Central Illinois". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  5. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Ayer Public Library" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. May 1975. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-23. Retrieved September 19, 2015.