Kalispell Carnegie Library - East Side Historic District - Kalispell, Montana
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 48° 11.766 W 114° 18.601
11U E 699890 N 5341595
Historic Carnegie library building now used to house an art center in Kalispell, Montana.
Waymark Code: WM281N
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2007
Views: 15
Carnegie Library
Citizens organized the Kalispell Public Library in 1897 and reorganized it
as the Free Library a few years later. Holdings included 772 circulation
volumes and 269 reference works. In 1900, Kalispell banker J. Harrington
Edwards met with the private secretary of New York philanthropist Andrew
Carnegie to discuss funds for the construction of a library building.
Carnegie agreed to donate $10,000 and the City promised to furnished the site
plus $1,000 per year over the next decade for maintenance. Architect
George Shanley drew the plans while his father, Bernard, won the contracting bid
for $9,860. Constructed of gray sandstone from the Columbus quarries near
Butte and pressed brick shipped by rail from Menominee, Wisconsin, the unusual
Colonial Revival style building features a domed octagonal entry. Citizens
flocked to the grand opening on January 12, 1904. The library boasted
4,500 volumes and by 1921, that number had increased to 10,000. Carnegie's
gift served as the Kalispell's library until 1969 when its holdings were
consolidated with the county library. This landmark building then acquired
a new function as the Hockaday Center for the Arts, a non-profit community art
center and museum. ~ text of marker