Essentially all the artwork on the Carnegie Library centers on the main entrance, a large mock Classical Revival portico with smooth round stone columns either side. Above the door, the transom contains a large shield with torch, book and floral design. Surrounding the wood and glass door is brickwork with triple keystones. Outside each stone column is a brick column with decorative capitals, terra cotta decoration at the capitals and further terra cotta above. Dentils complete the cornices of the portico.
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a successful Scottish-American businessman. Among his many philanthropic projects was the founding of over 2,500 public libraries throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Fiji.
Montana alone had seventeen
Carnegie libraries.
A. J. Gibson, a famous local architect, built Missoula’s original Carnegie library in 1903. The building is in the architectural style of Classical Revival. In 1912, architect Ole Bakke designed the expansion of the library. The second floor of the building has a Prairie architectural style, a departure from the typical “Classic Carnegie”. The third expansion of the library occurred in the mid-2000s. Today, the building has an interesting and controversial juxtaposition of modern and the earlier architectural styles.
Though it currently houses the Missoula Art Museum (a fabulous destination for all people), you can still enjoy the historic building that is part of Missoula’s early
history.
From The Examiner