Old Vicksburg Public Library -- Vicksburg MS
N 32° 20.884 W 090° 52.818
15S E 699476 N 3580992
The Old Vicksburg Public Library was added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Waymark Code: WMMK86
Location: Mississippi, United States
Date Posted: 10/01/2014
Views: 3
The Old Vicksburg Library (also known as the Vicksburg Planning Department) was added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1992. In 1993 it was also designated as a contributing building on the Upper Vicksburg Historic District.
From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History website, the nomination form for the Old Vicksburg Public Library to the US National Register of Historic Places: (
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"The Old Vicksburg Public Library is architecturally significant in the context of public/governmental architecture in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It exhibits an outstanding design that represents the highlight of development during Vicksburg's boom period. It is significant as the only public/governmental building in Vicksburg constructed in the Mission Revival style. While many residential buildings in Vicksburg were influenced by this style, the library is the only nonresidential Mission Revival and is the largest building constructed in the style.
. . .
In 1910 the Vicksburg Library Association decided to contact Andrew Carnegie to ask if he would help the Association build a new library. A library of sorts had been established on the third floor of the new City Hall in 1903, but the Association needed a larger building.
The Carnegie Foundation agreed to build a library building if the community would provide the ground for the building and agree to support the library once it was established. The Civic League raised $5,000, of which $4,000 was used to purchase the lot and the remainder was used to purchase books and supplies. The plans were designed by Edward L. Tilton, an architect commissioned by the Foundation in New York City. The Library was completed in February 1916 at a cost of $28,000, of which $25,000 was provided by the Carnegie Foundation.
In 1979 the Vicksburg-Warren County Public Library moved into new quarters, and the City of Vicksburg acquired the building to house the City's Planning and Inspection Departments. The building is well maintained and interior modifications have been made sensitively in order that the historic character has not been compromised. The building is a Mississippi Landmark and as such falls under permit review of the Historic Preservation Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History."