Carnegie Library - Prescott, Arizona
N 34° 32.506 W 112° 28.050
12S E 365340 N 3823206
This beautiful building remains today, an office building called Carnegie Library Offices.
Waymark Code: WM95CR
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2010
Views: 18
This historical marker describes the history of this Carnegie Library.
The Carnegie Library
Prescott's first library consisted of over 300 volumes brought to thje territory in 1864 by Secretary of State Richard C McCormick. In 1870, a group of local women opened a reading room with 263 books collected from local citizens and out-of-town newspapers. Run by private parties, this was the only source of library material. In 1895, the Women's Club of Prescott (later known as the "Monday Club") was formed. Their dream was to establish a free library "as attractive as an evening resort."
In June, 1899, Prescott Monday Club member Julia Goldwater wrote a letter to Andrew Carnegie requesting funds for a free library. Carnegie offered half the sum requested with the understanding that first the matching $4,000 had to be raised in the community. Eventually, the funds were raised and a building lot granted. But the fire of July, 14, 1900 destroyed all of the books for the library. The ladies of the Monday Club pressed on, accepting the donation of replacement books for the library. The Prescott Public Free Library (Carnegie Library), located here on the southwest corner of Gurley and Marina Streets, finally opened on November 24, 1903. Built in a Classical Revival style of brick and stone with a symmetrical facade, a pediment over the main entry door and a beautiful arched window above the entry, it is typical of the traditional styles being build in Prescott in the early Twentieth Century. This library served the Prescott community until 1974, when the current City of Prescott library opened.
Funded by the Historic Preservation Fund and the City of Prescott.
(According to another waymarker, the funds from Andrew Carnegie were graanted in July, 1899.)
Address of Library Building:
125 E Gurley St
Prescott, AZ USA
Current Use of Building: office building
Year Built (optional): 1903
Website about building: [Web Link]
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