Central Library (Indianapolis)

{{Infobox building

| name = Central Library

| image = Central Library Indianapolis (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Central Library in 2012

| map_type =

| map_alt =

| map_dot_mark =

| map_dot_label =

| relief =

| map_caption =

| map_size =

| coordinates = {{coord|39|46|42|N|86|9|24|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| former_names =

| alternate_names =

| etymology =

| status =

| cancelled =

| topped_out =

| building_type =

| architectural_style =

| classification =

| location = Indianapolis, Indiana

| address = 40 E. St. Clair St.

| location_city =

| location_country = U.S.

| grid_name =

| grid_position =

| altitude =

| current_tenants =

| groundbreaking_date =

| start_date =

| stop_date =

| topped_out_date =

| completion_date =

| opened_date = {{start date and age|1917|10|8}}

| inauguration_date =

| relocated_date =

| renovation_date = 1975, 2007

| closing_date =

| demolition_date =

| cost =

| ren_cost =

| client =

| owner = Indianapolis Public Library

| landlord =

| affiliation =

| height =

| architectural =

| tip =

| antenna_spire =

| roof =

| other_dimensions =

| structural_system =

| material =

| size =

| floor_count = 6

| floor_area = {{convert|293000|ft2|m2}}

| elevator_count =

| grounds_area =

| architect = Paul Philippe Cret

| architecture_firm = Zantzinger, Borie & Medary

| developer =

| engineer =

| structural_engineer =

| services_engineer =

| civil_engineer =

| other_designers =

| quantity_surveyor =

| main_contractor =

| awards =

| designations =

| known_for =

| ren_architect = Woollen, Molzan and Partners

| ren_firm =

| ren_engineer =

| ren_str_engineer =

| ren_serv_engineer =

| ren_civ_engineer =

| ren_oth_designers =

| ren_qty_surveyor =

| ren_contractor =

| ren_awards =

| parking = 397 spaces

| public_transit = {{bus icon|12px|Local Transit}} File:IndyGo logo.svg 39
{{bike icon}} Indiana Pacers Bikeshare

| website = {{URL|www.indypl.org/locations/central-library}}

| embed =

| embedded =

{{Infobox NRHP

| embed = yes

| name = Central Library (Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library)

| nrhp_type =

| image =

| caption =

| location =

| coordinates =

| locmapin = USA Indianapolis#Indiana#USA

| built =

| architect =

| architecture =

| added = August 28, 1975

| area = {{convert|1|acre}}

| refnum = 75000045{{NRISref|2009a}}

}}

| references =

| footnotes =

}}

Central Library is the main branch of the Indianapolis Public Library in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Central Library opened to the public on October 8, 1917.{{cite book |last1=Bodenhamer |first1=David J. |first2=Robert G. |last2=Barrows |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bg13QcMSsq8C&q=Indianapolis-Marion%20County%20Public%20Library |title=The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1994|isbn=0-253-31222-1|location=Bloomington and Indianapolis|pages=789–791}} It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Central Library (Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library) on August 28, 1975.

The original building was designed by Philadelphia-based architect Paul Philippe Cret (with Zantzinger, Borie and Medary).{{cite web| url = https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html| title = Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) | publisher = Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology | format = Searchable database| access-date = 2016-08-01}} Note: This includes {{cite web| url =https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/14ba1/N/Central_Library_(IMCPL)_Marion_CO_Nom.pdf| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Central Library (Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library) | access-date = 2016-08-01| author=Lawrence Downey| date=July 1975}} and accompanying photographs. It was constructed in Greek Doric style architecture, faced with Indiana limestone on a Vermont marble base. A modern glass and steel addition was completed in 2007. It is the third-oldest library in Indianapolis still used for its original purpose, preceded by the East Washington (1911) and Spades Park branches (1912).

History

File:Photograph of Eliza G Browning.jpg

Central Library was built on land donated by the poet James Whitcomb Riley. The library opened on October 7, 1917.{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Dawn |title=Over a century of reading at Central Library |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2017/10/06/central-library-centennial-celebration-features-opening-time-capsule/724083001/ |date=October 6, 2017 |work=The Indianapolis Star |access-date=January 21, 2023}}

Central Library has undergone a number of expansions and renovations over the years. A {{convert|40000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} annex to the Central Library was completed in 1975 and the restoration of historically significant architecture was completed in the 1980s.

Central Library temporarily relocated to Old Indianapolis City Hall from December 2002 to December 2007 while expansion construction commenced.

On October 7, 2017, the Indianapolis Public Library commemorated Central Library's 100th anniversary with the opening of a time capsule, musical performances, and a birthday cake.

Collections

=Center for Black Literature & Culture=

The {{convert|3800|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Center for Black Literature & Culture opened in 2017, provided by $1.3 million in grant funding from the Lilly Endowment. The center houses some 10,000 books, magazines, DVDs, and e-books with plans to qruple the collection to 40,000 items over the next five years. The center's window banners pay tribute to local Black figures, including former Indiana Fever basketball player, Tamika Catchings, poet and playwright, Mari Evans, and Congresswoman Julia Carson.{{Cite magazine|last=Bahr|first=Sarah|date=October 23, 2017|title=Indianapolis Public Library Debuts New Center For Black Literature And Culture|url=https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-and-culture/center-for-black-literature-and-culture|magazine=Indianapolis Monthly|location=Indianapolis|publisher=Emmis Communications|access-date=August 7, 2020}} Phase II of the project commenced after an Indianapolis City-County Council committee issued $5.3 million in bonds for facility upgrades and projects in July 2020.{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Samm|title=City-County Council committee approves $5.3M bond for library upgrades|url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/council-committee-approves-5-3-million-bond-for-library|date=July 22, 2020|publisher=Indianapolis Business Journal|access-date=August 10, 2020}}

=Chris Gonzalez Collection=

In 2019, the Indianapolis Public Library, in partnership with Indy Pride and others, dedicated the Chris Gonzalez Collection, named for LGBTQ activist and Indiana Youth Group co-founder Christopher T. Gonzalez. The collection of 7,000 items relating to local and national LGBTQ+ history and culture was merged with the Central Library collection.{{cite news |author= |title=Indianapolis Central Library unveils LGBTQ+ exhibit |url=https://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/indianapolis-central-library-unveils-lgbtq-exhibit |work=WRTV |location=Indianapolis |date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=August 7, 2020}}

=Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room=

{{Main|Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room}}

The Indianapolis Special Collections Room is named for newspaper executive Nina Mason Pulliam. The collection contains various archival adult and children's materials, both fiction and nonfiction books by local authors, photographs, scrapbooks, typescripts, manuscripts, autographed editions, letters, newspapers, magazines, and realia. The collection features Kurt Vonnegut, May Wright Sewall, the Woollen family, James Whitcomb Riley, and Booth Tarkington.Central to Our History: Indianapolis Special Collections Room, n.d., brochure, Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library.

Architecture

=Cret building=

File:Indianapolis Public Library. South elevation (extracted).jpg

Central Library contains a number of distinguished architectural design elements. The main reading room {{convert|100|ft|m}} by {{convert|45|ft|m}} inside the main entrance has two flights of Maryland marble stairs, two {{convert|30|ft|m}} diameter bronze light fixtures, and an ornamental ceiling designed by Clarence C. Zantzinger. The ceiling includes oil-on-canvas medallions and printers' colophons accompanied by a series of bas-relief plaster plaques depicting early-Indiana history. Reading rooms at the top of each staircase have wood paneling above oak bookcases and large leaded glass windows. Central Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1975.

Writing for Architectural Forum in 1918, architect Ralph Adams Cram described Central Library as "one of the most distinctive and admirable contributions to architecture that have been made in America."{{cite magazine |last=Cram |first=Ralph Adams |date=September 1918 |title=The Indianapolis Public Library |volume=29 |number=3 |quote-page=68 |issn=0003-8539 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044029361193 |magazine=The Architectural Forum |location=Boston, Mass. |publisher=Rogers and Manson Co. |hdl=2027/hvd.32044029361193 |access-date=January 21, 2023 |via=HathiTrust |quote=Altogether I cannot help feeling that this Indianapolis Library is one of the most distinctive and admirable contributions to architecture that have been made in America.}}

=Woollen building=

File:Interior of the Central Library in Indianapolis - 2008.jpg

In 2001, Indianapolis-based architectural firm Woollen, Molzan and Partners was commissioned to renovate the historic building, expand with a six-story addition, and incorporate an underground parking garage. The new curved glass curtainwall façade and atrium would connect to the Cret-designed building, replacing the annex built in the 1970s. Evans Woollen III, principal architect, conceptualized the library's design as a secondary terminus to the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza immediately south.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Woollen, Molzan and Partners |encyclopedia=Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis |orig-date=1994 |year=2021 |last=Gadski |first=Mary Ellen |publisher=Indianapolis Public Library |url=https://indyencyclopedia.org/woollen-molzan-and-partners/ |access-date=January 21, 2023}}

The $104 million project doubled the size of the library but proved controversial due to a number of design and construction flaws.{{cite web |last=McLaughlin |first=Kathleen |title=Marion County library may close six branches |url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/19175-marion-county-library-may-close-six-branches |work=Indianapolis Business Journal |access-date=August 9, 2020 |date=April 8, 2010}} The renovated Central Library and its new atrium addition opened on December 9, 2007, two years behind schedule and over budget.{{cite journal |last=Fernandez |first=Megan |title=The Pillar: Evans Woollen |journal=Indianapolis Monthly |page=73 |date=June 2010| url=https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/features/the-pillar-evans-woollen/ |access-date=December 18, 2017}} See also: "Biographical" Sketch in {{cite book |title=Woollen, Molzan and Partners, Inc. Architectural Records, ca. 1912–2011 |publisher=Indiana Historical Society |year=2017 |location=Indianapolis |url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/woollen-molzan-partners-inc-architectural-records}}Woollen, Molzan and Partners website project page [http://www.woollenmolzan.com/projectview.asp?pid=2&cid=1&st=3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718083115/http://www.woollenmolzan.com/projectview.asp?pid=2&cid=1&st=3|date=July 18, 2011}}{{cite news |last=Swiatek |first=Jeff |title=Storybook ending?: Next chapter in Central Library saga could yield a commercial boom for surrounding area |url=http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712220380 |date=December 21, 2007 |work=The Indianapolis Star |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 5, 2016}}

Clowes Auditorium is a 329-seat theater on the library's northwest side.

Art

=Public art=

File:Science, Art, and Literature (sculpture) - Valerie Everett 02.jpg

File:Indianapolis, October 2, 2024 - 017.jpg

Arthur St. Clair Memorial (1938), bronze tablet set in limestone commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor of Arthur St. Clair (artist unknown){{cite web |title=Athur St. Clair Memorial |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/arthur-st-clair-memorial/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
Arts, Sciences and Letters (1893), bronze sculpture by Richard Bock{{cite web |title=Arts, Sciences and Letters |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/arts-sciences-letters-2/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}{{cite web |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) |year=1993 |title=Arts, Sciences, and Letters, (sculpture) |work=Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!340052~!0#focus |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
The Book of Life: The People We Know, the Experiences We Have, and the Conditions under Which We Live (2008), mural by Tom Torluemke{{cite web |title=The Book of Life |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/the-book-of-life/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
Light, Words, Life (2007) by Arlon Bayliss and Joyce Brinkman{{cite web |title=Light, Words, Life |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/light-words-life/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
Monument (2015), installation art by Brian McCutcheon
Peace Dove (2014), sculpture by Ryan Feeney{{cite web |title=Peace Dove |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/peace-dove/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
RIOS (Random Information Organization System) (2007), wall relief by Ed Francis{{cite web |title=RIOS (Random Information Organization System) |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/rios-random-information-organization-system/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}
thinmanlittlebird (2009), two-piece sculpture by Peter Shelton{{cite web |title=thinmanlittlebird |url=https://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/thinmanlittlebird/ |website=indyartsguide.org |publisher=Arts Council of Indianapolis |access-date=January 21, 2023}}{{cite web |last=Hoppe |first=David |title=Peter Shelton's public art |url=https://www.nuvo.net/arts/visual/peter-sheltons-public-art/article_9ca294f9-ed7f-56dc-9a53-2ef1efc86654.html |date=May 12, 2009 |work=NUVO |access-date=January 21, 2023}}{{cite web |last=Hoppe |first=David |title='thinmanlittlebird' land at Library |url=https://www.nuvo.net/arts/visual/thinmanlittlebird-land-at-library/article_487187c9-8040-5c69-85c3-8b054b56a34e.html |date=May 6, 2009 |work=NUVO |access-date=January 21, 2023}}

In response to the George Floyd protests, a coalition of Indianapolis cultural leaders organized a grassroots public art project matching 22 Black artists with businesses interested in displaying messages of racial justice. In total, 24 pieces were painted on plywood-covered windows in downtown Indianapolis. To ensure their preservation, each mural was photographed and printed onto {{convert|3|ft|m|adj=on}}-by-{{convert|5|ft|m|adj=on}} vinyl banners and exhibited at Central Library's Center for Black Literature and Culture. The banners are available for loan to the public for educational purposes.{{cite web |last=Bongiovanni |first=Domenica |title=Downtown's racial justice murals have been coming down. Here's where they're headed next. |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/arts/2020/09/14/downtown-indianapolis-racial-justice-murals-have-new-home/3459423001/ |date=September 14, 2020 |work=The Indianapolis Star |access-date=January 22, 2023}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Black Lives Matter Murals |encyclopedia=Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis |date=December 2022 |last=Verderame |first=Jyoti |publisher=Indianapolis Public Library |url=https://indyencyclopedia.org/black-lives-matter-murals/ |access-date=April 7, 2023}}

="Meet the Artists"=

During Black History Month, Central Library hosts "Meet the Artists," an annual art exhibition showcasing work by local African American artists. The idea for an exhibition was prompted by artist-in-residence Anthony Radford's firsthand experiences finding few spaces in the city featuring the work of Black artists. Radford pitched his idea to the library's African American History Committee in 1988, earning their support. The first exhibition in 1989 included 11 artists and drew 200 visitors.

"Meet the Artists" has grown to include an opening night gala of music, workshops, and a fashion show, followed by a month-long exhibition, regularly drawing more than 1,500 participants. More than 400 Black visual artists, poets, dancers, authors, and musicians have been featured since the event's establishment.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Meet The Artists |encyclopedia=Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis |date=June 2022 |last=Verderame |first=Jyoti |publisher=Indianapolis Public Library |url=https://indyencyclopedia.org/meet-the-artists/ |access-date=January 22, 2023}}

References

External links

[https://www.indypl.org/locations/central-library Official website]

Category:Library buildings completed in 1917

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis

Category:Public libraries in Indiana

Category:Paul Philippe Cret buildings

Category:Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana

Category:Tourist attractions in Indianapolis