Elwood Public Library, Elwood, Indiana
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 40° 16.655 W 085° 50.415
16T E 598595 N 4459212
The Elwood, Indiana Carnegie building, once considered "A Marvel of Beauty", now sits vacant across the street from the new library building.
Waymark Code: WM63RA
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 03/28/2009
Views: 14
In the late 1890s, citizens of Elwood, Indiana came together to form the first public library in the town. A room was rented and over eight hundred books were purchased and cataloged. Within a few years, the collection had tripled in size, and the town council had approved a tax levy to help fund the library. In August of 1901, librarian Nellie Fatout and the secretary of the library association appealed to Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a dedicated library building in Elwood. Carnegie responded with a grant of $25,000. (An additional grant of $5000 would come later.) Town council purchased a lot near the town hall, and work began on the new building in 1903.
The Carnegie library, dedicated 1 June 1904, was described by the newspapers as "A Marvel of Beauty". The oak circulation desk was flanked by the main reading room on one side, and the children's room on the other. A skylight and ornate plaster decorated the ceilings, and mosaic tile decorated the floor. Wooden arches, columns, and furniture added to the beauty of the rooms. A basement auditorium seated 300, a men's smoking room offered daily newspapers, and chess and checker games were available. The new library was impressive enough to be used as an example by the Library of Congress as a "nearly ideal" arrangement.
The library's collection and circulation grew, and Elwood became the center of a library district as branch libraries were organized. The 25th and 50th anniversaries of the library were celebrated with events and open houses. The interior of the building was continually upgraded and improved. On the exterior, changes included a new set of stairs and tree planting. The 75th anniversary of the building, in 1979, was celebrated again with an Open House.
By the early 1990s, the collection of the Elwood library had outgrown the 1903 Carnegie building, designed for 20,000 books and no audiovisual materials. Because of the library's location, expansion was not possible, so a decision was made to build a new library. Ground was broken at the site across the street from the Carnegie building for the new library, which was opened in January 1997. Since then, the Carnegie building has been used for different business, including a furniture store. Currently, it is vacant and its fate is uncertain.
References:
North Madison County Public Library System
elwoodindiana.org