County of contributing building: St. Louis Independent City
Location of this contributing building: 2500 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis
Building erected: December 9th, 1905
Architect: Thomas C. Link
"The Barr Branch Library Historic District is significant for its architectural merit and its association with the important St. Louis merchant and philanthropist William Barr. In addition, the construction in 1905-06 of the Library marked an intellectual and social milestone for St. Louis. Built on land donated by Barr with funds given by Andrew Carnegie, the Library was the culmination of nearly thirty years of effort by librarian Frederick Crunden to establish free and convenient access to books for all St. Louisans.
"On May 26, 1896, a devastating tornado swept across St. Louis from the southwest leaving at least two hundred dead and millions of dollars of damage in its erratic wake. Both the Union Club and Mt. Calvary Episcopal Church were damaged beyond repair, but Barr's Block stood unscathed as did the buildings along the west side of Jefferson to the south. The church, staggered by its loss, was unable to meet its schedule of payments to Barr who reclaimed possession of the lot. The Union Club replaced its building with one flesigned by Grable, Weber & Groves in 1897.
"The cornerstone of the Barr Branch Library was laid on December 9, 1905, on the site of Mt. Calvary Church. Funds for construction of the building, to cost $72,000, were from a $1,000,000 challenge grant offered by Andrew Carnegie in 1901. (Half of this sum was to be spent on a central library building and the remainder for branch libraries on - the condition St. Louis provide building sites and tax itself adequately to support the libraries. At the cornerstone-laying ceremony, Barr and Carnegie were praised for their generosity but the real hero of the day was librarian Frederick Crunden who in developing a free library system for St. Louis "for long years fought the good fight almost alone, against public apathy and official stupidity and lack of funds."
"As the neighborhood shifted from white to blue collar, circulation steadily increased. In 1923, the librarian reported crowded conditions with adults overflowing into the children's room and sitting on the floor in the stack area. "Give us more books, and more books, and more room to grow." 16 By 1928, when circulation approached 230,000, the annual report mentioned the continued influx of foreigners and "an increase of automobile traffic on Jefferson inhibiting the use of the Library by children. Circulation in the next decade gradually declined due partly to the opening of other branch libraries and partly to continued economic-social changes in the neighborhood." ~ NRHP nomination form