Saint Paul Central Library, 90 West 4th Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota
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Saint Paul Central Library | |
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| Address: | 90 4th Street W |
| Neighborhood/s: | Downtown, Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: | Ramsey County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year built: | 1917 |
| Primary Style: | Renaissance Revival |
| Historic Function: | Library |
| Current Function: | Library |
| Architect or source of design: | Electus D. Litchfield |
| Material of Exterior Wall Covering: | Stone |
(44.943768° N, 93.097264° WLatitude: 44°56′37.565″N
Longitude: 93°5′50.15″W)
Under the leadership of Mayor Lawler in 1909, serious work began on building a new Library. A site was chosen on Rice Park, and in 1910, the Library board began discussing how to raise the $500,000 it was estimated the new building would cost.
By 1912, railroad baron James J. Hill had offered to contribute $700,000 specifically for the construction and endowment of a reference library attached to the public library. Almost simultaneously, $100,000 toward the project was raised through a subscription campaign, $30,000 was received through a bequest from Greenleaf Clark, and the state legislature authorized the sale of $600,000 in bonds for the construction of the new facility. By the fall of 1912, the Library board had hired Charles Soule, a Boston library consultant, to assist in planning the new facility. Ground was broken for Central Library in 1914. Ultimately, the entire building, including the Hill Reference Library, was erected at a cost of approximately $1.5 million.
The Central Library opened in 1917. In that same year, three Carnegie library branches opened -- Arlington Hills Library, Riverview Branch Library, and Saint Anthony Park. All four buildings are still in operation as libraries. The Central Library has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.[1]Contents |
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