Pittsburg Public Library; Pittsburg, Kansas
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 37° 24.657 W 094° 42.447
15S E 348893 N 4141830
Despite opposition from local miners, a Carnegie grant helped Pittsburg, Kansas to build a public library.
Waymark Code: WM85Y2
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2010
Views: 4
In the 1890s, Pittsburg, Kansas began to operate small "book club" libraries. By 1902, a public lending library had been opened in the city hall. The Board of Directors of the library contacted the Carnegie Foundation in 1907 to request a library grant. Local labor organizations in this coal mining region did not wish to accept funds from the steel magnate because they felt he did not treat his workers fairly.
The Pittsburg Kansan, a socialist newspaper, vocally protested accepting the Carnegie grant. However, in 1909, a grant of $40,000 was accepted.
The Chicago firm of Patton and Miller was hired to design the building. Patton and Miller would build 68 Carnegie libraries across the country, including those in Oberlin, Ohio and Port Huron, Michigan. The building was designed in the Prairie Style, in part to distance it from the more stereotypically ornate Carnegie libraries in other communities. The cornerstone was set in September, 1910, and the building was completed in 1911. The contractor was S. S. Geatches. On 12 January 1912, the library was formally dedicated. The two-story building is made of Carthage limestone and has a red tile roof.
The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 with ID number 77000577. A 1996 expansion designed by the architectural firm of Glenn Livingood Penzler added a new wing in a style similar to the original. For this, the firm earned an award from the Kansas Preservation Alliance. The building is still in use as a library.
References:
Jones, Theodore. Carnegie Libraries Across America
Gardiner, Allen. The Carnegie Legacy in Kansas, available online
Pittsburg Public Library