Davenport Public Library
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{infobox library
| library_name = Davenport Public Library
| name_en =
| library_logo =
| image = Davenport Public Library - Main Branch.jpg
| image_size = 275px
| caption = Main Branch in 2018
| country = United States{{flagicon|United States}}
| type = Public
| scope =
| established = 1877
| ref_legal_mandate =
| location = 321 N. Main St.
3000 N. Fairmount St.
6000 Eastern Ave.
Davenport, Iowa
| coordinates = {{coord|41.5232|-90.5752|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-IA|display=inline,title}}
| publictransit = {{rint|bus|1}} Davenport CitiBus
| items_collected =
| collection_size = 372,826
| criteria =
| legal_deposit =
| req_to_access =
| annual_circulation = 946,114 (2011)
| pop_served =
| members =
| budget =
| director = Jeff Collins
| num_employees =
| website = [http://www.davenportlibrary.com/ www.davenportlibrary.com]
| phone_num = 563-326-7832
{{Infobox NRHP
| name =
| nrhp_type = cp
| nocat = yes
| partof = Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District
| embed = yes
| image =
| caption =
| location =
| coordinates =
| locmapin =
| area =
| built = 1968
| architect = Edward Durell Stone
| architecture = New Formalism
| added = September 11, 2020
| mpsub =
| partof_refnum = 100005546{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2020-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List|date=September 25, 2020|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2020-09-25}}
| designated_other1 = Davenport Register of Historic Properties
| designated_other1_date = January 23, 2019
| designated_other1_number = 59
}}
}}
The Davenport Public Library is a public library located in Davenport, Iowa. With a history dating back to 1839, the Davenport Public Library's Main Library is currently housed in a 1960s building designed by Kennedy Center architect Edward Durell Stone. The Davenport Public Library system is made up of three libraries—the Main Library at 321 Main Street; the Fairmount Branch Library at 3000 N. Fairmount Street {{nowrap|({{coord|41.55167|-90.63154|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-IA|display=inline}})}}; and the Eastern Avenue Branch Library at 6000 Eastern Avenue {{nowrap|({{coord|41.58302|-90.55331|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-IA|display=inline}})}}.
History
File:Davenport Carnegie Library.jpg
The library began with a reading room in the Le Claire Hotel established in 1839.{{cite web|url=http://genealogytrails.com/iowa/scott/library.htm|title=Scott County Library|publisher= Genealogy Trails|access-date=2012-06-17|last=Peck|first=Maria Purdy}} Another reading room and circulating library were announced in an 1853 article in the Davenport Gazette. The library eventually leased an entire building. Although then named the Young Men's Library Association, it was managed by the community's women. In 1877, one of them—Clarissa Cook—pledged $10,000 to the library for the construction of its own building if property were obtained for the construction by the citizens. After successfully raising the funds to purchase a lot, the city laid the cornerstone for the Cook Memorial Building on November 7, 1877.
The library eventually outgrew its space. Even though the Library Association no longer had to pay rent and charged a fee for borrowing books, it was struggling financially and could not resolve the issue itself. Local author Alice French requested the assistance of her personal friend Andrew Carnegie, who was already becoming known for his philanthropic assistance of libraries. Carnegie promised to donate $50,000 to construct a new public library if the library were tax supported.{{cite book|last=Svendsen, Marlys A.|first=Bowers, Martha H.|title=Davenport—Where the Mississippi Runs West: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture|year=1982|publisher=City of Davenport|location=Davenport, Iowa|page=14-4}} The question was successfully put to the vote at the April 1900 election, the first in Iowa which permitted women voters. The city opened its Carnegie library, the largest west of the Mississippi River in 1904, with $75,000 in funds donated by Carnegie.{{cite web|url=http://clip.grad.uiowa.edu/davenport-public-library|title=Carnegie Libraries of Iowa Project-Davenport Public Library|access-date=2016-01-23|publisher=University of Iowa}} The building was designed by Boston architect Calvin Kiessling. The library's first director in the new Carnegie building was Marilla Waite Freeman.{{cite web
| url = http://blogs.davenportlibrary.com/sc/2013/04/18/library-leadership-directors-we-have-known/
| title = Library Leadership: Directors We Have Known
| last = SCblogger
| date = 18 April 2013
| website = Davenport Public Library Blog
| access-date = 20 November 2017}}
By 1960, the library had outgrown the Carnegie Building as well. It was expanded in 1963 to provide space for further services for children, but the expansion caused displacement of the sand on which the building was founded, leading to structural damage. In 1966, the Carnegie Building had to be demolished, and the library temporarily relocated to a disused department store until new quarters could be constructed. The subsequent Davenport Public Library building, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, was opened on October 6, 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.davenportlibrary.com/about-the-library/history/|title=History|publisher=Davenport Public Library|access-date=2012-06-17|archive-date=June 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611011516/http://www.davenportlibrary.com/about-the-library/history/|url-status=dead}} The local architectural firm of Stewart-Robison-Laffan served as associate architects.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=100002918}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: First National Bank of Davenport|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2023-03-29|author=Alexa McDowell}} In 2019, it was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties.{{cite web|author=Historic Preservation Commission|title=Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks|publisher=City of Davenport |url=https://www.davenportiowa.com/government/boards_commissions|access-date=2023-03-21}}Click on "Historic Preservation Commission" and then click on "Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks". In 2020, the building was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web|url=https://www.downtowndavenport.com/pdf/FOR_SHPO_DavenportCommercialHD_Nov_18_revised_2019.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District|publisher=Downtown Davenport, Iowa|access-date=2020-09-25|author=Jennifer Irsfeld James}}
Branches
While the library had long maintained branches in area schools, it opened its first official branch, the {{convert|4200|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Annie Wittenmyer Branch, on April 3, 1978. This branch was located in the historic Annie Wittenmyer Complex, in rooms that were used as the kitchen and dining room of the former Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home. However, due to the growth of the area and the proximity of this branch to the Main Library, officials began considering where to better locate a branch building in the mid-1980s. The citizens of Davenport passed a referendum in 2003 that supported the building and operation of two new library branches. The Annie Wittenmyer Branch closed in November 2005. The Fairmount Branch Library opened on Saturday, January 14, 2006; and the Eastern Avenue Branch Library opened on Saturday, July 10, 2010, completing the library expansion project.
File:Fairmount.jpg|Fairmount Branch
DPL Eastern.jpg|Eastern Avenue Branch
References
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.davenportlibrary.com Official website]
- [http://www.qcmemory.org Official Site of the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center]
- [http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com Official City of Davenport site]
{{Davenport}}
{{Historic Davenport structures}}
{{Davenport Register of Historic Properties}}
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Category:1877 establishments in Iowa
Category:Library buildings completed in 1968
Category:Tourist attractions in Davenport, Iowa
Category:Buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa
Category:Public libraries in Iowa
Category:Carnegie libraries in Iowa
Category:Edward Durell Stone buildings
Category:Education in Davenport, Iowa
Category:Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
Category:Historic district contributing properties in Iowa