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This
description of the Lincoln Public Library is as accurate today as it
was when it was written a century ago. As the library passes its
100th year of existence, it is still possible to go inside and image
what it must have been like in 1903.
"When you come in and sit down, you really get a sense of turn of
the century Victorian America," said Richard Sumrall, library
director.
Sumrall explained that the library board has made an effort to make
any renovations in keeping with the building's original character.
The result is a building that blends the technological resources of
the 21st century, such as computers, microfilm, and internet access,
with an early 1900’s setting.
For instance, all the interior woodwork is original, as are most of
the tables and chairs and the circulation desk. Even the bookshelves
have survived since 1903. Especially noteworthy is the stained glass
light dome directly above the checkout counter complete with yellow
and green glass at its center to represent corn, and a wooden
shelf-like structure to the right of the checkout desk. Today it
displays new arrivals and recommended reading, but in 1903 it was
called an information teller cage.
Although its original purpose has been forgotten over the past
century, Sumrall speculates that it might have been used to hand
people books they reserved, or to answer questions.
The mosaic in the vestibule is also original. Sumrall recalls that
the space was once covered with linoleum which had grown worn and
was slated to be replaced with new carpeting. The carpet installers
were just about to lay down their glue when Sumrall happened to walk
by and notice the mosaic, saving it. That mosaic, like the one above
the checkout counter, is made with thousands of tiny pieces and must
have been very labor-intensive and costly when it was created.
Some elements of the library have had to be replaced over the years,
but the board has made an effort to accurately reproduce the
original whenever possible.
"Anytime we do anything, how we affect the library is at the
forefront of our minds," said Sumrall.
The mosaic outside the front door of the library, for example, is an
exact reproduction of the original - so accurate that the modern
craftsman even repeated a small flaw in the pattern that existed in
the original.
The library lamps and light fixtures are also reproductions, except
one wall fixture in the back right corner of the building. The
original shades were sold off in the 1960s, but they have been
reproduced using early 1900s photographs of the library's interior
and a few remaining shades as models.
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in this article]
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View more pictures of the
Lincoln Public Library. [Pictures
by Bob Frank]
These photographs, which are in the library's collection and may be
viewed upon request, illustrate how similar today's library looks to
when it was first opened.
The library is a meaningful place for older citizens of Lincoln, who
find it little changed from their childhood. The library also held a
special fondness for William Maxwell, a Lincoln-born author who went
on to make several important contributions to American literature.
The
history of Lincoln's library stretches back to 1874, when the
Lincoln Library Association was formed as an outgrowth of the
temperance movement. At the turn of the twentieth century the
library had outgrown several facilities, and it became clear that a
new building was needed.
In 1901
the library board appealed to Andrew Carnegie for funds. Carnegie, a
wealthy steel magnate, never forgot his time spent as a youth in a
cotton factory, when a wealthy man lent his personal library to
working boys, and thus was inspired to help create almost 1500
libraries throughout the United States, 105 of which are in
Illinois. He granted $25,000 for the construction of a new building.
Stephen
Foley, a prominent local banker, donated an additional $5,000. Their
contributions are memorialized in a mosaic above the checkout desk
which reads "Erected through the generosity of Andrew Carnegie and
Stephen A. Foley, 1902." The cornerstone was laid in 1902, and the
building was completed in late April, 1903.
The
library was originally to be called the Lincoln Carnegie Memorial
Library, but Carnegie refused this honor, stating that it would be a
desecration to link Lincoln's name with any other. Instead, he
contributed a modest portrait of himself, which hangs in the back
right corner of the main room. Foley is represented in the larger
portrait next to Carnegie's.
Only 20%
of Carnegie libraries are in their original condition. Sumrall takes
the care and maintenance of the museum seriously, and plans to
maintain the building as a place where the community can continue to
enjoy a turn-of-the-century atmosphere.
"We plan
on being here for 100 more years and we want to do the best we can
for the people of Lincoln," he said.
[Erika Nunamaker]
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