The Ayer Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 208 Locust Street in Delavan, Illinois.
Ayer Public Library | |
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| Location | 208 Locust St., Delavan, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 40°22′27″N 89°32′49″W / 40.37417°N 89.54694°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1914 |
| Built by | Lillibridge, Ray |
| Architect | Simmons, A.T. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| MPS | Illinois Carnegie Libraries MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001352[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 12, 1998 |
History
editThe library was the city's fifth attempt at forming a library; it succeeded and assumed the collection of a library founded in 1902 by the Blue Button Army temperance organization. When the Blue Button library closed in 1907, supporter Amos K. Ayer called for the city to establish a permanent public library.
With Ayer's financial backing, a library for all citizens of Delavan Township was approved in 1907;[2][3] however, it used a temporary space and lacked a permanent home until the city applied to the Carnegie Foundation for assistance in 1912. After a protracted misunderstanding with James Bertram, who expected a city library tax and did not understand that the township provided tax support, the Foundation provided a $10,000 grant for the library and construction began in 1914.[4] The Classical Revival library opened later in the year; it remains open to this day.[5][4]
The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1998.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Delavan Community Historical Society (1976). Delavan: A Bicentennial Community. Delavan Community Historical Society. p. 44.
- ^ Federal Writer's Project. Illinois (1937). Delavan, 1837-1937: a chronicle of 100 years. p. 73.
- ^ a b Skaggs, Robyn (2022-10-06). "On the books: Carnegie libraries of Central Illinois". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Ayer Public Library" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. May 1975. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-23. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
External links
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