with a view of the gaslit reading room overlapping the picture of the entire library.
Note the newly planted tree.
No lions.
Lions.
OPL was also an early adopter of digitization and electronic resources.
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.
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, especially when they hold a clock.
The card is a product of A.C. Bosselman & Co., printed in Germany, for John T. Faber of Milwaukee. It was mailed in 1912.
Not Philo T., but George W., president of the Oconto Lumber Company.
Farnsworth's donation was joyfully accepted in 1902, and the new library opened in 1903. Apparently, it's still in use.
(L) This is another one of those pseudo-Blue Sky cards, but the effort to tint
seems hardly worth the effort.
(R) An L.L. Cook photo postcard shows some more detail.
Oshkosh's library has the peculiar distinction of appearing in the 2009 movie Public Enemies.
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| Postmarked 1906, with a view of the gaslit reading room overlapping the picture of the entire library. Note the newly planted tree. |
Second card is postmarked 1911. Note that the entrance is barren. | Third card, in linen finish and heavily retouched, is by E.C. Kropp of Milwaukee. Note the addition of the lions. |
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| Beautiful Rotograph card. No lions. | Photo card, mailed 1926. Lions. |
Righthand card dates from the 1950s. These simply cannot be the trees from the second card. |
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Another city which turned down Carnegie funding. Read the library's history at its
site.
Despite having declined the Carnegie grant, Oshkosh's old library strongly resembled that of Rockford, IL. Unlike Rockford,
when Oshkosh expanded, it did so with delightful grace, retaining the beauty of the old section in
its local history room.
OPL was also an early adopter of digitization and electronic resources. |
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| Hmm, that tree sure took off. This card was postmarked 1911, and its message is written in code. | Chrome postcard, probably pre-addition, with many details. |
Village hall. Library. Loading dock?
Both the building and the Chevy are 4-door models.
Dedicated August 26, 1934. Still in use, although only since 1985 was it a true public library.
L.L. Cook card mailed in 1977.
Chrome card from the late 1950s. Frankly, I think it looks like a motel.
Founded in 1900. Appears to have moved twice since the Armory days.
(L) This image sat as an unsolved mystery in a card drawer for years until I realized it was of Portage.
(R) On the left street corner is Story's College of Commerce and Training School, with a cigar store downstairs.
An Intensive Historical Architectural and Historical
Survey of the City of Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin has 400+ pages of information about Portage's buildings.
City Hall and Library
The card, No. 6501, is by an unknown manufacturer. The building is rather generic, but Prairie du Sac is not that large a town.
Replacement for the
Carnegie building, which is still standing.
According to the L.L. Cook card, it was dedicated May 18, 1958.
Still in
use,
but heavily renovated in 1991.
Are you squinting at the words on the building?
They read:
The World of Books
is the most remarkable creation of Man
Poor quality Excel Post Card. Deckle edge cropped.
The multi-color sandstone library was built in 1936 by Clas & Clas, and is so highly regarded that it's on the National Register of Historic Places. The horrible postcard must not have surfaced during the decision making.
Still in use, with an addition. Given the size of Randolph, I'm surprised it was needed.
878 people, and they have a library!
Pleasant building, probably from the 1920s. Google Maps evidence points to a replacement building.
The library has recently developed a web site, but seems to have had a blog first. Very Web 2.0.
The Carnegie building, which was demolished in favor of this, is featured on another page, along with most of the library's history.
(L) Dexter Press postcard.
(R) L.L. Cook photo postcard, surprisingly recent.
City Hall and Library
Not too impressive looking institution for a university town. Sometime along the way, an attractive library building was built, somewhat resembling the UWRF buildings' style.
The card, by L.L. Cook, dates from 1958 or later, judging by the Chevy near the corner. The little sign is a Navy recruitment poster.
Building believed to be standing, but replaced. In the right-hand background is a Cities Service gas station.
(L) Multiview card.
(R) Bloom Brothers postcard.
An early Library Journal article states that Mrs. D.R. Moon ponied up the money for this building. Stanley has a population of only 3,500 today. The original building is still in use.
1924 building, now replaced.
Part of the Wisconsin Valley Library service. Still in the log cabin.
1904 -
Replaced by Irvin L. Young Memorial Library in 1991.
According to the library's
website:
The White Memorial building continues to serve the community as it provides office space for the Chamber of Commerce, Cable Station 13, and the Community Development Authority.
To the best of my knowledge, the majority of these cards has reached the public domain by virtue of the postcards' age. I claim full copyright on the text, which may be used in citation only. Also, I claim copyright on the scans, although given their quality, you might wonder why. Most of the troublesome scans are of early works, not linen-finish cards.
e-Mail me at (first name)(at)roadmaps (dot) org.
© 2003 - 2011 Judy Aulik
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