Rensselaer Carnegie Library - Rensselaer, IN
N 40° 56.275 W 087° 09.197
16T E 487096 N 4531876
Quick Description: Now known as The Carnegie Center, the gift of Andrew Carnegie to the City of Rensselaer continues to give to the community.
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 4/6/2008 12:49:28 PM
Waymark Code: WM3H6K
Views: 27
Long Description:In 1902, C.D. Royce contacted Andrew Carnegie, famous for this
worldwide library financing, to request a library for Rensselaer,
Indiana. In early 1903, Carnegie informed Royce that Rensselaer
could have a free library if the city could provide a suitable site
and meet conditions to keep the library free to the public. The
city met the challenge and architect Charles Weaterhogg, who had
worked on the Jasper County Courthouse, was hired to design the
Rensselaer Carnegie Library. The cornerstone was laid on July 13,
1904 in a traditional Masonic ceremony with a parade. There was a
copper box of mementos embedded in the cornerstone.
The library opened to the public on September 4, 1905.
From the entrance, a visitor could go upstairs to the main floor
of the library, where the circulation desk and reading areas were
surrounded by multitudes of book stacks. A visitor could also
descend to the lower hallway into the auditorium, where many local
events were held until it was transformed into the children's
library in 1963.
The Carnegie Library has been renovated and modernized many
times to provide visitors with the most efficient facilities.
When the Jasper County Library moved to a new building just a
block down from the Carnegie Library in 1992, the Carnegie Library
became the Carnegie Center. After so many renovations in service as
a library, it now renovated its purpose to serve the community as
the Lilian Fendig Gallery for art on the main floor and the offices
of the Jasper Foundation on the lower level.
The Jasper Foundation is a charitable organization that assists
philanthropists in donating to support local programs that
strengthen and enrich the community.
The Lilian Fendig Gallery has hosted poetry readings, exhibits
from St. Joseph's College Senior Portfolios, and been a home to the
Carnegie Quilters. Lilian Fendig, now departed, was a respected
Rensselaer artist and the gallery came from generous support of her
husband, Ralph Fendig.
A portrait of Andrew Carnegie greets visitors in the entrance
and the main stairwell banister displays a plaque that describes
the gift that Carnegie gave to the community.
Visit Instructions:To log a waymark in this category:
1. Please provide at least one photograph of the building.
Additional photographs are encouraged.
2. Describe your experience.
No additional visit instructions will be added for individual
waymarks. Additional instructions will result in waymark being
declined.
