Perry Carnegie Library Building

Perry Carnegie Library Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Entrance to the library
Location	1123 Willis Ave. Perry, Iowa
Coordinates	41°50′18″N 94°6′18″W / 41.83833°N 94.10500°WCoordinates: 41°50′18″N 94°6′18″W / 41.83833°N 94.10500°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1908
Built by	Courtney and Bolt
Architect	Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen
Architectural style	Classical Revival
Part of	Downtown Perry Historic District (#00001005)
MPS	Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR
NRHP Reference #	96001061[1]
Added to NRHP	October 3, 1996

View of the library from the southwest

The Perry Carnegie Library Building, also known as the Carnegie Library Museum, is a historic structure located in Perry, Iowa, United States. The Perry Library Association was established in 1894, and William Tarr served as its first librarian.^[2] The Carnegie Corporation of New York accepted Perry's application for a grant for $10,600 on January 13, 1903.^[3] The Des Moines architectural firm of Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen designed the Neoclassical building that was built by local contractor Courtney and Bolt. It opened in September 1904 was dedicated on December 10.

The "L" shaped building is designed to fit into its triangular lot. The inside of the "L" is filled in and features a rounded outer wall. The building served as a public library for close to 90 years when a new library was built across the street. It was then renovated for use as a library museum. Its collection includes many of the 1,000 original titles from the library, a special collection of Midwest literature, women’s fiction, children’s books, and books on literacy and libraries.^[4] The Carnegie Library Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.^[1] It was included as a contributing building in the Downtown Perry Historic District in 2000.^[5]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Michael W. Farley. "Perry Carnegie Library Building" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
3. "Carnegie Libraries of Iowa Project-Perry Public Library". University of Iowa. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
4. "Carnegie Library". City of Perry, Iowa. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
5. William C. Page. "Downtown Perry Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-03.