Monday, August 26, 2013

Hometown Library: Get Well Soon!

Even if my hometown library in Missouri, the Sedalia Public Library, weren't hot stuff, I'd still be concerned about the crack in its west wing, which led to the discovery of more serious structural problems, which led to its relocation (to the site of the oldest furniture store in town) and a year-long closure for repairs.  This news story from Columbia, Missouri gives a few more details.

A lot of newspapers and other media in Missouri are following the fortunes of my library because you see, my library is actually hot stuff. Founded in 1895, it started out in the basement of the courthouse. In 1899, there was a Cinderella twist to its story:  Andrew Carnegie awarded Sedalia a $50,000 grant, and when the new library opened two years later in 1901, it was the first Carnegie Library in Missouri.

In 2007, Sedalia Public Library was one of 84 libraries chosen for the gorgeous coffee table book Heart of the Community: Libraries We Love.  Speaking of gorgeous, that's my library all over.  It was built in the Greek Revival style so popular at the time.  When he was little, my son referred to it as a castle.  It's been registered as a historical landmark, so there is a lot of interest in seeing it repaired and restored.










Sedalia Public Library has its own page on Facebook where there are some fascinating pictures of what they're doing to the inside of the building.  It's like major surgery.  Get well soon, Library!  That furniture store is all right, but I'd much rather visit you.  

5 comments:

Nicole said...

Wow--what a gorgeous library. My town apparently had a Carnegie library, too, but folks weren't big on preservation in the late 1950s and so it was torn down when the new library was built. So sad. Here's hoping the restoration goes smoothly for Sedalia!

Unruly Reader said...

Oh, it's a beauty, your library. If I had a million dollars, I'd send a bunch of it their way.

Unknown said...

ive been restoring your beautiful library for over a year.my name is Christian ferm from DH restoration from Grandview mo.its been my pleasure to work on your library.ive been in every inch of that building. and the people have been awesome to me.i just finished the last of my work today. im really going to miss it there .ive driven 3, 480 miles per month for over a year .I want to say thank you

Unknown said...

https://www.facebook.com/christian.ferm1

Bybee said...

Christian,
I thank YOU!