Laurens Carnegie Free Library

Last updated
Laurens Carnegie Free Library
LaurensCarnegieFreeLib (2).png
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location263 N. 3rd St.
Laurens, Iowa
Coordinates 42°50′57″N94°51′06″W / 42.84917°N 94.85167°W / 42.84917; -94.85167 Coordinates: 42°50′57″N94°51′06″W / 42.84917°N 94.85167°W / 42.84917; -94.85167
Arealess than one acre
Built1910
Built byW.J. Zitterell
Architect Wetherell and Gage
Architectural style Mission Revival
NRHP reference No. 74000804 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 5, 1974

Laurens Carnegie Free Library is a historic building located in Laurens, Iowa, United States. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Wetherell and Gage and completed in 1910. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted the application for a grant from Laurens' literary association for $3,800 on February 6, 1907. [2] The Mission Revival structure measures 42 by 22.5 feet (12.8 by 6.9 m), [3] and has a projecting pavilion for the main entrance. An addition was built onto the rear of the building in 1955. The building now houses the Pocahontas County Historical Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. [1]

Related Research Articles

Humboldt Public Library

Humboldt Public Library in Humboldt, Iowa, USA, is a free public library. The library received a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York on December 13, 1906. The Des Moines architectural firm of Hallett & Rawson designed the building. It was built using limestone from a nearby area now known as Taft Park. Construction began in 1908 and it was dedicated on February 9, 1909. The rough texture of the rock-faced stone and the portico columns in the Tuscan order give the building a rustic appearance. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. A north entrance and extension were added to the building in 1992.

Council Bluffs Public Library library

The Council Bluffs Public Library serves the residents of Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States along with unincorporated and rural areas of Pottawattamie County. Several cities also contract with the library to provide services. It dates back to 1866. The library is currently located on Willow Avenue. The previous library building on Pearl Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Proudfoot & Bird American architectural firm

Proudfoot & Bird et al. was an American architectural firm or partnership that designed many buildings in the U.S. Midwest. Partners included Willis Thomas Proudfoot (1860–1928) and George Washington Bird (1854–1953) and Harry Dustan Rawson (1872–1934). At times it was known as Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson, Proudfoot, Rawson & Souers, Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas,Monheim, Bird & Proudfoot, Proudfoot, Rawson Brooks & Borg, Brooks - Borg Architects - Engineers, Brooks Borg and Skiles Architects Engineers, and finally BBS Architects|Engineers.

Carnegie Library Building (Carroll, Iowa) United States historic place

The Carnegie Library Building in Carroll, Iowa, United States, is a building from 1905. The 60-by-38.5-foot structure was designed in the Prairie School style by Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted Carroll's application for a grant for $10,000 on February 12, 1903. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Perry Carnegie Library Building United States historic place

The Perry Carnegie Library Building, also known as the Carnegie Library Museum, is a historic structure located in Perry, Iowa, United States. The Perry Library Association was established in 1894, and William Tarr served as its first librarian. Andrew Carnegie accepted Perry's application for a grant for $10,600 on January 13, 1903. The Des Moines architectural firm of Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen designed the Neoclassical building that was built by local contractor Courtney and Bolt. It opened in September 1904 was dedicated on December 10.

Frank E. Wetherell (1869-1961) was an architect in the U.S. state of Iowa who worked during 1892–1931. He founded the second oldest architectural firm in the state in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1905. He worked with Roland Harrison in partnership Wetherell & Harrison. The firm designed numerous Masonic buildings.

Bedford Public Library United States historic place

The Bedford Public Library in Bedford, Iowa was built in 1916. It was designed by Wetherell & Gage with Colonial Revival and Renaissance Revival features. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted Bedford's application for a grant for $10,000 on April 8, 1907. The library is a brick, side gable structure with a projecting entrance on the long side of the building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Sigourney Public Library United States historic place

Sigourney Public Library is located in Sigourney, Iowa, United States. After the Keokuk County Courthouse was completed in 1911 the local community formed a library committee to build a new public library. They purchased the property in 1912 and received $10,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to fund the new building. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton, Holmes & Flynn designed the new library in a combination of the Bungalow and Colonial Revival styles. The single story brick structure is built on a raised foundation. It features an entrance that is slightly projected, a symmetrical facade, and it is capped with a hipped roof. It was dedicated in May 1914, and was one of 101 public libraries that were built in Iowa with assistance from the Carnegie Corporation. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Sigourney Public Library moved to its present location in the renovated Blackie's Grocery Store building located on Iowa Highway 92 in 2005.

Emmetsburg Public Library United States historic place

Emmetsburg Public Library was at a historic building located in Emmetsburg, Iowa, United States. A former Carnegie library, it sits on the square behind the Palo Alto County Courthouse. Andrew Carnegie had accepted Emmetsburg's application for a grant for $10,000 on February 20, 1911. The building is significant for its architecture. It was designed by Bloomington, Illinois architect A.T. Simmons and completed in 1912. The brick, side gable structure has a projecting entrance on the long side of the building. A string course encircles the building, engaging the lintels of the windows. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Hamburg Public Library (Hamburg, Iowa) United States historic place

Hamburg Public Library is located in Hamburg, Iowa, United States. The Carnegie Corporation of New York accepted Hamburg's application for a grant for $9,000 on December 3, 1915. It was dedicated on June 9, 1919. The Georgian Revival style building is five bays wide with its main entrance in the center bay. The single-story brick structure follows a simple rectangular plan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Eagle Grove Public Library United States historic place

The Eagle Grove Public Library, now the Eagle Grove Historical Museum, is a historical building in Eagle Grove, Iowa, United States. A subscription library was begun in Eagle Grove around 1885, and housed in the post office. The impetus for the first free public library was a 1901 advertising campaign by a Des Moines insurance and investment company. When local citizens bought company's bonds, the company donated 250 books to the town. The books were housed in the Masonic Hall. The Carnegie Corporation of New York accepted Eagle Grove's application for a grant for $10,000 to build a library building on April 26, 1902. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Smith & Gage in the Beaux Arts style. The library was dedicated on September 15, 1903. It is a brick structure with a conical-roofed entrance pavilion. Four engaged columns in the Ionic order flank the main entryway. The public library has subsequently moved to a larger facility, and the old library building was turned over to the local historical society for a museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Clarinda Carnegie Library United States historic place

The Clarinda Carnegie Library, now known as the Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum, is a historic building located in Clarinda, Iowa, United States. The Clarinda Public Library was organized in 1905. The library board applied for a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for $15,000 on February 21, 1907. W.W. Welch was the architect of the Carnegie library building that was dedicated on April 15, 1909. In time the building became too small. The Lied Foundation of Las Vegas donated $1 million towards a new facility, and a special election held in October 2002 allowed the city to borrow the same amount for a new building. Groundbreaking for the new building took place on May 28, 2003, and the new Lied Public Library was opened on October 11, 2004. The old library building has been transformed into an art museum, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Storm Lake Public Library United States historic place

The former Storm Lake Public Library is located in Storm Lake, Iowa, United States. The Carnegie Corporation of New York accepted Storm Lake's application for a grant for $10,000 on December 4, 1903. Designed by Paul O. Moratz, the new library was dedicated on September 29, 1906. After its use as a library, the building housed the museum for the Buena Vista County Historical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Montezuma Downtown Historic District United States historic place

The Montezuma Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Montezuma, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The historic district covers Montezuma's central business district, and includes the Poweshiek County Courthouse, Carter Hotel, and the Carnegie Library building. Iowa architect Frank E. Wetherell has at least one building.

Fairfield Public Library United States historic place

Fairfield Public Library is located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. A library association was founded by a group of local men in 1853, and funded by dues from its members. It was housed in several different buildings for the first 40 years. U.S. Senator James F. Wilson from Fairfield was instrumental in obtaining a grant from Andrew Carnegie for a building of its own. The grant for $40,000 was accepted on January 15, 1892. It was the first Carnegie Library outside of Western Pennsylvania and the first of 101 built in Iowa. It was also one the few libraries Carnegie funded without stipulations concerning its use, public support, or design. The building was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Kansas City architect C. Stafford. It was officially opened on Friday, September 29, 1893, and it was dedicated on November 28 of the same year. The association continued to run the library until 1899 when voters approved a referendum to support it with taxes. The building has been altered in the ensuing years, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The library moved to a new building in 1996, and the historic building is now home to the Jefferson County Service Center of Indian Hills Community College.

Monroe Carnegie Library United States historic place

Monroe Carnegie Library, also known as Old Monroe Carnegie Library, is a historic Carnegie library located at Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana. It was built in 1917, and is a one-story, rectangular, Neoclassical style limestone building on a raised basement. The Monroe County History Center is a history museum the historic library building that was established as a Carnegie library. The museum is located on the site of Center School in the former Bloomington Public Library building. The library building is now home to the Monroe County Historical Society, their collection of artifacts, and their Genealogy Library. A historical marker is present at the site. The History Center is located at 202 East 6th Street. It is a tourist attraction.

Maquoketa Public Library United States historic place

The Maquoketa Public Library is located in Maquoketa, Iowa, United States. The Maquoketa Literary Society was organized as early as 1851, and the Boardman Library Institute was founded in 1885. The community applied to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant to build a free public library, and on March 14, 1902 they were awarded $12,500. The total cost of acquiring the property and constructing the building was $15,000, which they raised by public contributions and entertainments. Independence, Iowa architect Harry Netcott designed the Neoclassical building. It is a single-story brick structure that rests on a raised limestone basement. Bedford stone was used for the trim. It features a symmetrical facade, with columns in the Ionic order that frame the portico. The interior features a columned rotunda. It was dedicated on January 19, 1904. The Boardman Library Institute merged with the Free Public Library after the new building was completed. The roofline was altered slightly when a new roof was added around the middle of the 20th century.

Chariton Public Library United States historic place

Chariton Public Library is located in Chariton, Iowa, United States. The Library and Reading Room Association was formed in Chariton in 1879, but it was short-lived. The county superintendent of schools started a teachers' library in the courthouse sometime afterward. By this time the community had a library of 800 volumes. There was an effort by study clubs in town in 1898 to raise money and establish a free public library. The Chariton Federation of Women's Clubs took the lead and opened a library with the books from the courthouse in two rooms above Gibbons Drug Store on the town square. Citizens approved a local tax to support the library the following year.

Sioux City Free Public Library United States historic place

The Sioux City Free Public Library is a historic building located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. The library was located in a section of the Municipal Building, no longer extant, between 1892 and 1913. It had outgrown the space when the Library Board contacted Andrew Carnegie in 1910 about providing the funding for a new library building. Their request was initially turned down. They chose to work with New York City architect Edward L. Tilton, an architect preferred by Carnegie, in place of local architect William L. Steele who was working with the board previously. Local resident George Murphy donated the property for the new building. Meanwhile, Tilton designed the two-story brick Renaissance Revival building. On April 8, 1911, Carnegie approved the project and donated $75,000 for the building's construction. The new building was dedicated on March 6, 1913, and it is considered "an excellent early twentieth century example of the architectural development of library planning and design." It was Tilton's only building in Iowa.

Carnegie-Stout Public Library public library in Iowa

The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The public library had its beginnings with the Young Men's Literary Association, established in 1859, and their book collection was the basis for the library's collection. The books were housed in a variety of buildings over the years. The community applied for a grant from Andrew Carnegie who on January 12, 1901 contributed $71,500 to build the library building. Local businessman Frank D. Stout donated the property, which was worth $20,000, in honor of his father Henry L. Stout. The two-story Bedford stone and brick building was designed by Chicago architects W. G. Williamson and John Spencer. It is considered one of the finest examples of the Classical tradition of Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa. The main facade is dominated by a Roman Corinthian portico that was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. Its fluted columns are matched with pilasters on the wall behind. The building was dedicated on October 17, 1902, and it opened three days later. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and it was included as a contributing property in the Jackson Park Historic District in 1986. An addition was added to the east side of the building in 1981.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Carnegie Libraries of Iowa Project-Laurens Public Library". University of Iowa. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  3. Jeanne Cowan and Pat Harms. "Laurens Carnegie Free Library" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-01-23.