Perry Carnegie Library Building

Perry Carnegie Library Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Entrance to the library
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Location	1123 Willis Ave. Perry, Iowa
Coordinates	41°50′18″N 94°6′18″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1908
Built by	Courtney and Bolt
Architect	Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen
Architectural style	Classical Revival
Part of	Downtown Perry Historic District (ID00001005)
MPS	Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR
NRHP reference No.	96001061[1]
Added to NRHP	October 3, 1996

The Perry Carnegie Library Building, also known as the Carnegie Library Museum, is a historic structure located in Perry, Iowa, United States. The Perry Library Association was established in 1894, and William Tarr served as its first librarian.[2] Andrew Carnegie accepted Perry's application for a grant for $10,600 on January 13, 1903.[3] The Des Moines architectural firm of Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen designed the Neoclassical building that was built by local contractor Courtney and Bolt. It opened in September 1904 was dedicated on December 10.

The L-shaped building is designed to fit into its triangular lot. The inside of the "L" is filled in and features a rounded outer wall. The building served as a public library for close to 90 years when a new library was built across the street. It was then renovated for use as a library museum. Its collection includes many of the 1,000 original titles from the library, a special collection of Midwest literature, women's fiction, children's books, and books on literacy and libraries.[4] The Carnegie Library Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[1] It was included as a contributing building in the Downtown Perry Historic District in 2000.[5]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Michael W. Farley. "Perry Carnegie Library Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
3. "Carnegie Libraries of Iowa Project-Perry Public Library". University of Iowa. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
4. "Carnegie Library". City of Perry, Iowa. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
5. William C. Page. "Downtown Perry Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-03.

View of the library from the southwest