Library Park | |
Location | 711 59th Place, Kenosha, Wisconsin |
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Coordinates | 42°34′51″N87°49′10″W / 42.5808°N 87.8195°W |
Area | 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) |
Built | 1899 |
Architect | Ossian Cole Simonds |
Architectural style | American Romantic |
Part of | Library Park Historic District (ID88002657) |
NRHP reference No. | 00000733 [1] |
Added to NRHP | June 22, 2000 [2] |
Library Park, formerly known as The Commons, City Park, and Central Park, is a park in Kenosha, Wisconsin designed by Ossian Cole Simonds. It features a library and war memorial designed by Daniel Burnham and a sculpture by Charles Henry Niehaus.
When the town of Southport (the original name of Kenosha) was platted on October 30, 1838, a "Public Common" was reserved at Town Line Road and Kenosha Road. The land was donated by early settlers George Kimball and Charles Durkee, who wanted the old oaks to be preserved. By 1849, a Park Society was formed by local women to improve the park; their main contribution was the addition of a lagoon. Following the Civil War, the park fell into disuse and the grounds were used as an in-town pasture. [3]
The city filled in the lagoon in 1884 after locals complained about frogs and mosquitoes. However, later in the year, a group formed to restore the park. In 1895, they built a bandstand at the northeast corner of the property. The park then became a popular shortcut to town and once again it became a popular public space as Central Park. Later that year, flower beds were planted and benches were installed. Ball playing and bicycling were prohibited. [3]
A committee formed in 1895 to investigate the possibility of constructing a public library. A small library opened in a room above a hardware store, but the collection quickly outgrew the small locale. In 1898, Zalmon G. Simmons donated funds for a new library in the center of Central Park. When the Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library was completed, the park became known as Library Park. Simmons also offered to provide the funding for a war memorial to honor those from Kenosha who fought in the Civil War. Both of these structures were designed by Daniel Burnham and were dedicated on May 30, 1900. Although Burnham provided a list of suggestions for the landscape, Simmons instead hired Ossian Cole Simonds to re-plan the park. Simonds reinforced the naturalistic and informal style of the park. [3]
Businessman Orla Calkins donated a statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln, carved by Charles Henry Niehaus, in 1909. Originally just east of the Soldiers' Monument, it was moved to the northeastern corner of the park a few years later. The library was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1974. On November 29, 1988, the park, Lincoln statue, and war memorial were listed as contributing properties to the Library Park Historic District. The park was individually listed as a site on the register on June 22, 2000. [3]
Daniel Hudson Burnham was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the Beaux-Arts movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ever produced."
Kenosha is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosha is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Kenosha is located about halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, and Interstate 94 connects Kenosha to both metropolitan areas.
The year 1900 in architecture involved some significant events.
Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road. Among the cemetery's 121 acres (49 ha) are the burial sites of several well-known Chicagoans.
Charles H. Durkee was an American pioneer, Congressman, and United States Senator from Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and was a Governor of the Utah Territory in the last five years of his life.
Charles Henry Niehaus was an American sculptor.
Ossian Cole Simonds, often known as O. C. Simonds, was an American landscape designer. He preferred the term 'landscape gardener' to that of 'landscape architect'. A number of Simonds' works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. was a businessman, manufacturer, Wisconsin legislator, and mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Bradford Community Church, originally the Henry M. Simmons Memorial Church and later the Boys and Girls Library, is a historic church built in 1907 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States under the leadership of Kenosha's first woman pastor.
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The Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, and is a location of the Kenosha Public Library (KPL). KPL consists of 4 locations, an Outreach department, and is a member of both the Kenosha County Library System (KCLS) and the SHARE Consortium. The Simmons Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and was the first formal location for KPL. KPL was named the Power of Libraries Award Winner in 2018, Wisconsin Library Association's 2020 Library of the Year, and a finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2021.
The Library Park Historic District is a historic neighborhood in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, surrounding Library Park, which was originally conceived as a New England-style town commons. The district consists of 42 contributing properties built from 1843 to 1930. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
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The statue of George Palmer stands in Palmer Park, in Reading, Berkshire. The statue, by George Blackall Simonds, was unveiled in 1891, though it was originally in Broad Street and only later moved to Palmer Park. The statue has been classed Grade II Listed monument since 14 December 1978.
The Muskegon Historic District is a public and residential historic district in Muskegon, Michigan, consisting of the four blocks between Clay Avenue, Webster Avenue, Second Street, and Sixth Street, and the two blocks between Webster Avenue, Muskegon Avenue, Second Street and Fourth Street. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Oak Hill Cemetery is a rural cemetery located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 17 resources, which included 13 contributing buildings, one contributing site, two contributing structures, and one contributing object.
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