Martha: 'My knowledge is located here.'
The State of Wisconsin has a different, Progressive philosophy towards funding its libraries. In short, every resident is entitled to a card. If you don't live within a district, you might wind up with two or more cards!
However, your local library may be open fewer than 40 hours per week, and may not even be open every weekday.
Paper mill barons are among the early philanthropists that funded the first Wisconsin public libraries. Therefore, many of the non-Carnegie libraries appear in the Wisconsin River or Fox River valleys.
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| ca. 1911 | ca. 1947 | ca. 1908 Martha: 'My knowledge is located here.' |
| Stare at these a while, and you start getting a vaguely creepy feeling. | ||
(L) This view must have been taken from a building kitty-corner across the intersection.
(R) Poor Stephenson Library: playing second chair to the interstate bridge across the Menominee River leading
into Menominee, Michigan.
It looks a lot friendlier on this page. Stephenson Public Library is now part of a Marinette County library consortium.
(R) 1901 - 1960 building. It looks like a Carnegie building, but is not.
Note the weird discrepancy between the windows on the left and the right.
The card is one of E.C. Kropp's better efforts. However, the flag is one
of those rare 19 star varieties.
The library has an improved history page. The building in the card on the left was built in 1960, and received an addition in 1985. If you look at the cropped section on the right, it looks as if the new building was built in front of the old.
Menasha's library was founded in 1896, and the 1898 building featured on this card fell out of use in 1969.
Nice website with a new history page.
Card printed in Germany, and published by E.A. Bishop of Racine, WI.
<--------------------------Awnings down.
Awnings up.---------------------------->
Mabel Tainter Memorial Building, built 1890: replaced 1986. The current, small building does have a lovely lake view. The little library has to serve the city, plus most of Dunn County.
(L) This is one of my favorite cards. Imposing, stern Richardson Romanesque facade implying great wisdom lies within.
Then a happy retouch artist gave it candy striped awnings.
(R) 'One of the most efficient and elaborate libraries in the world is housed in this building.'
----------------------------------------------------Awnings gone.----------------------------------------------------
Didn't you say you wanted to fly like an eagle, soaring above Menomonie, so you could get a better
view?
I thought I heard something.
E.C. Kropp provides you the sensation, with this view of Menomin Lake. Mailed in 1943, it captures other interesting city buildings.
Lots of nifty details in this Universal Photo Service postcard. I believe that the brown
building in both of the newer cards is the post office.
Gee, it's a GTE phone booth by the corner of the tower.
All the cars that I can ID are GM products, the newest a '56 Chevy. How times have changed.
Caption: City Hall and Library, Merrill, Wis.
Note the Police Station at lower left.
At times, this might be a handy combination.
The library dates from 1891.
The Romanesque building is now the Old City Hall Apartment building, and was replaced by a Carnegie library in 1911. You don't see many cards that pre-date Carnegie, although this one was mailed in August of 1911. Wonder if it was on clearance?
The Carnegie library building was renovated in 2001, and remains fairly intact as a wing.
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'Gruss aus Milwaukee' Pioneer Private Mailing Card |
'Gruss aus Milwaukee' Entire back card, also by C.N. Caspar |
'Oeffentliche Bibliothek und Museum' |
|  |  | V.O. Hammon card appropriated by the Goodrich Line Steamers; sent 1909. | Made in Germany for S.L. & Co. Message in German mailed to Chicago in 1908. | Lovely E.C. Kropp card, never mailed. One gets the impression that the artists really tried hard for their local library to look its very best. |
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| This real photo card appears to date from the 1940s, judging from the autos. | The Kropp postcard is a gussied-up version of the library. | The last scene is labeled as 'Wisconsin Ave. from Court of Honor.' I think it rather sums up Milwaukee during the nifty '50s. Ramblers would have been so much nicer, however. |
According to a Milwaukee School of Engineering personal page, this library was built in 1897, designed by the architects Ferry and Clas. According to the postcard on the left, this library moved into the building in 1898. The map was someplace in the 'Central Building, Milwaukee Public Library'.
Many expansions have kept this facility in use. Featuring services including a liberal area-wide borrowing policy and a coffeeshop/surplus book store, Milwaukee Public Library is surprisingly vital.
Even without the map.
Photo postcard from 1952, if I read the license plates correctly.
Caption: Point Theatre & Municipal Building.
Library sector (Note the Free Public Library sign above the Chevrolet) still in use. So are the public restrooms of the municipal building, a very important feature when playing tourist in Mineral Point.
1904-1996
You absolutely must visit the Monroe Public library site
to comprehend how the new facility looks. I guess that's what happens when you
convert a clinic to a library.
What's that? Can't find Monroe?
Here's a ca. 1973 card (by L.L. Cook) to give you an idea of how it looked as the Monroe Clinic.
Less than impressed, aren't you?
City Hall and Public Library, New London, Wis.
Still
standing.
A 1903 Carnegie grant enabled the library to find its own home, which appears to still be in use, with the assistance of a honkin' addition.
Not that this Romanesque hulk didn't have its own peculiar charms. Clock towers are always nice.
The card is a product of A.C. Bosselman & Co., printed in Germany, for John T. Faber of Milwaukee. It was mailed in 1912.
© 2003 - 9 Judy Aulik
| Divided on 02 July 2008. Updated on 12 September 2009. Non-Carnegie libraries, A - L. Return to home page. |