Marietta Library, Marietta, Ohio
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 39° 25.013 W 081° 27.448
17S E 460620 N 4363140
The Marietta branch of the Washington County Library is the second Carnegie library in town, built ten years after the library at Marietta College.
Waymark Code: WM51KM
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 10/26/2008
Views: 10
Public library history in Washington County, Ohio goes back to the days of the Northwest Territory in the late 18th century. The Marietta library found its home in different buildings before construction of the Carnegie building. A library was housed on Front Street from the 1830s until closing in 1883. A resurgence in interest in the library led to the reorganization of the Marietta Library Association. Bureaucracy was created in 1901 in the form of a Code of Regulations and a Board of Trustees. Funds were raised to buy books, and the new library was opened. It was soon moved to the high school building, and books from the previous library association were added to the collection.
By 1912, the book collection outgrew its space at the school and a new home was sought. The first building lot was rejected when the flood of 1913 put it eight feet underwater, and the Capitolium mound on 5th Street was chosen. Capitolium is an eight foot tall temple mound, part of a larger system of earthworks in the area. The property had been designated for “public walks or public buildings” by the Ohio Land Company in 1796, and the city government gave the land to the library. A $30,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie funded construction of the red brick building designed by local architect George Walter Hovey. Contractor Levi Cowell began construction in summer 1916, finishing the building in 1918. Since then, the library has served the people of Marietta. Renovations in 1991-92 redesigned the interior of the building but maintained the original exterior appearance.
Address of Library Building:
615 5th Street
Marietta, Ohio USA
45750
Current Use of Building: library
Year Built (optional): 1918
Website about building: [Web Link]
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