Anamosa Public Library

Anamosa Library & Learning Center
Country United StatesUnited States
Type Public
Established 1903
Location 600 E. First St.
Anamosa, Iowa
Coordinates 42°06′25.7″N 91°16′44.6″W / 42.107139°N 91.279056°W / 42.107139; -91.279056
Other information
Director Rebecca Vernon
Website www.anamosalibrary.org

References:

Anamosa Public Library
Location 100 E. 1st St.
Anamosa, Iowa
Coordinates 42°06′23.8″N 91°17′07.1″W / 42.106611°N 91.285306°W / 42.106611; -91.285306Coordinates: 42°06′23.8″N 91°17′07.1″W / 42.106611°N 91.285306°W / 42.106611; -91.285306
Area less than one acre
Built 1902-1903
Architect Dwight H. Perkins
Architectural style Romanesque Revival
MPS Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR
NRHP Reference # 83000380[1]
Added to NRHP May 23, 1983

Anamosa Public Library is located in Anamosa, Iowa, United States. Its original building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1]

History

The public library had its beginnings in 1900 when former resident Walter S. Benton bequeathed $10,000 to buy library books if the city built a library building by 1903.[2] The city and the estate failed to reach an agreement, so the Francis Shaw Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution took over leadership of the effort and raised the necessary funds. Chicago architect Dwight H. Perkins designed the single-story Romanesque Revival-style building that was built of native limestone. The side-gabled structure featured a reading room on one side of the building and the book stacks on the other. A delivery desk was located in the center.[3]

By the 1990s the historic building was becoming too small and technologically insufficient.[2] Ernest J. Buresh, formerly of Anamosa, donated the property for a new library, and the Buresh family also offered $500,000 towards a new library contingent on the community raising a million dollars by December 2002. OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids designed the new 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) building. The necessary funds were raised without a bond referendum.[2] The present modern library building, also composed of native limestone, was opened on November 8, 2004. The historic building now houses the Anamosa Police Department.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 "History of our Library". Anamosa Public Library. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  3. ↑ Samuel J. Klingensmith. "Anamosa Public Library" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-11-04. with photos
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