As the twentieth century opened on
St. Louis, the city was experiencing continued growth in industry, area,
population, and stature as a major American city. Andrew Carnegie, famed philanthropist and
steel magnate, donated millions to the foundation of libraries across the
country and the globe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century. In 1901, Carnegie offered St.
Louis $1 million to construct a new library (St. Louis 2). Two years
earlier, Crunden wrote to Carnegie, requesting that he consider St. Louis when
deciding on his next library location.
The conditions of the donation included that half be used to construct a
central branch, the other half used to construct additional branches, and that
city provide locations free of debt and provide funding for maintenance through
a tax increase of one-fifth (“Carnegie”).
The library board decided to use its property on the corner of Locust
and Sixteenth streets to construct the new Central branch. The rest of the money was used to fund the
construction of six additional branches: Barr (1906), Cabanne (1907),
Carondelet (1908), Soulard (1910), and Divoll (1910) (St. Louis 2). Between 1884
and 1907, the future site of the Central branch was occupied by the St. Louis
Exposition and Music Hall. It was
demolished after years of serving as a popular site for autumn exposition exhibits
(Gosebrink 15). This offer was met with
joy and criticism, mainly about the sites being chosen, whether St. Louis
needed Carnegie’s charity, and the coming tax initiative. Within a year, the tax initiative was on the
ballot and passed. In 1903, the
selection of the exposition grounds was made official and sent to Carnegie for
final approval. Crunden began plans to
build a model library at the upcoming 1904 World’s Fair to show Carnegie the
plans for the Central Branch. In June
1903, Carnegie approved the plans and location for the Central and other
branches, however due to the high cost of materials construction was delayed
until after the World’s Fair. Before his
dream of a new system was realized, Crunden suffered a severe stroke in 1906
leaving him paralyzed on one side (“Overwork”).
Though Crunden continued work for at least two more years, by 1909 he
was forced to resign due to illness and would pass away in 1911. Arthur E. Bostwick, the chief of New York
Public Library’s circulation department was elected by the Library board as the
new head librarian in 1909 (“New Yorker”).
During this period
of director flux, an architect was chosen to head the Central Library Project.
Cass Gilbert, a New York architect, was chosen in 1907, from a candidate pool
of eight prestigious architecture firms (St. Louis Public Library 5). His previous works included the Art Museum
erected at the World’s Fair and the Woolworth Building in New York (Norman
514). Complaints inevitably followed the
board’s choice, the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reports in several articles that Gilbert appeared to take too
long in finalizing and approving plans for Central Branch. As the project continued over the years,
anticipation grew about the design and size of the branch. When finished, the Central Branch cost $1.5
million, $50,000 of which was given by Carnegie (St. Louis Public Library
5). The exterior was made in the style
of early Italian Renaissance, complete with arches and columns surrounding the
building. The building was three
stories, with a grand main entrance and staircase. The exterior was also covered in inscriptions
and carvings, with the names of the zodiac, famous authors, philosophers,
scientists, and other historical figures (St. Louis Public Library 13-17). Quotes from major library figures such as
Crunden and Carnegie also decorate the outside of the building. Crunden’s inscription reads: “Recorded
thought is our chief heritage from the past, the most lasting legacy we can
leave to the future. Books are the most enduring monument of man’s
achievements. Only through books can civilization become cumulative” (19). The interior is
filled with marble staircases, grand reading rooms, and rooms of shelving for
the reference room, art room, and general stacks. The Central Branch could be considered a high
achievement in library architecture, its rich rooms and grand scale matched
only by the love of the public for its contents and mission.
The official
dedication of the Central Branch was held on January 6th, 1912, and
was attended by nearly one thousand people despite below freezing temperatures. Speakers at the dedication included President
of the Board of Directors George Carpenter, Dr. Herbert Putnam, the Librarian
of Congress, Cass Gilbert, and other important St. Louis figures. The ceremony paid homage to the hard work of
the library staff over the years, and special commendation was given to
Crunden, who had worked for so many years to provide St. Louis with a free
public library (Public Library of the City).
Once opened the Central branch had expanded its services to include new
children’s programming, art and science departments, a new music and foreign
language collection that contained 18 languages (St. Louis Public Library
2). The branch would continue to expand
over the years under Bostwick, even opening up an library training school in
1917 (3). The St. Louis Public Library
and the Central Branch has a history that reaches further back than their
inception as free public spaces in the 1890’s.
They can credit their existence to the efforts of early librarians and
school boards, dedicated private citizens and those in love with reading and
learning. The city of St. Louis was
experiencing a significant time of growth and prosperity that allowed it to
support the construction and expansion of public libraries throughout the city. Today St. Louis Public Library, Carnegie,
Crunden, and Divoll’s legacies continue through the growth of the system and
its renovations to keep the libraries moving forward with their patrons and the
country.
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