CARNEGIE LIBRARIES:
The Future Made Bright
“The man who dies rich dies in disgrace.” – Andrew Carnegie
Thanks to the generous philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie at the beginning of the 20th century, 35 libraries were constructed throughout Colorado and (as of 2010) 30 of the buildings were still intact, and 18 still operate as libraries.
NOTE: The Carnegie Libraries built in Longmont and Denver’s Old Main (now McNIchols Civic Center) are now used as offices but were including in this article for their significant historically and their proximity to Boulder. The other 14 locations covered are still functioning libraries today.
– Researched & written by Mike Hamers
ANDREW CARNEGIE – “The Father of Philanthropy”
Andrew Carnegie was once the richest man in the world. He was 12 when he immigrated with his family from Scotland to the U.S., right in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. By the 1880s he’d built an empire in steel — and then gave it all away: $60 million (about 80% of this wealth) to fund a system of 2,509 public libraries across the country as well as Canada, the British Isles, Australia, and the Caribbean.
Carnegie believed public libraries provided a pathway to knowledge and self-improvement. In 1889 he wrote an article called “The Gospel of Wealth,” in which he spelled out his views on philanthropy: “In bestowing charity the main consideration should be to help those who help themselves.” The rich should give, so the poor could improve their own lives — and thus the lives of the society. Giving was a code of honor.
COMMITMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY
Carnegie did not assume full responsibility for the construction of new libraries; rather, he stipulated that communities provide sites for libraries, and governments commit to providing salaries for staff and maintaining the libraries. Additionally, Carnegie libraries could not rely solely on private funds, but required public funds as well. This ensured that the libraries would be a part of the community and continue to receive funding after the initial donation.
35 COLORADO CARNEGIE LIBRARIES
There were a total of 35 Carnegie libraries from 27 grants constructed in the state of Colorado. The first grant given to Colorado came to Grand Junction. The last grant given was in 1917 to the town of Florence. In 1910 the city of Denver used its Carnegie library as a centerpiece for its City Beautiful plans. Of the 35 Carnegie-funded libraries built in the state, 30 still survive. And 18 of the buildings continue to function as libraries, while some have taken on new office uses.
WOMEN ADVOCATED FOR FREE LIBRARIES
The start of the 20th century continued to see rapid growth in the establishment of public libraries. During this time, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) was formed and became one of the main advocates for free public libraries in the U.S. In 1904, Mrs. Charles A. Perkins wrote that “clubs had established 474 free public libraries across the county.” In order to start these libraries, clubwomen would advocate for various forms of legislation. Laws were needed to enable municipalities to provide tax support to libraries. The lobbying for this legislation created state commissions. Clubwomen would also raise money by utilizing their own skills through bake sales, entertainments, and other small-scale fund-raising events. Books were collected through donations or purchased from the funds earned by the clubs.
In 1914, the executive secretary of the American Library Association, G.B. Utley stated that “fully one half the libraries in this country had been established through the influence of American women.” Many of the club women were instrumental in contacting the Carnegie Institute and requested funds to build permanent libraries.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was also accredited to set up town libraries at the turn of the century. While fighting for the prohibition of alcohol and for social reform, in many cities they started purchasing books, setting up the first public reading rooms (in rented spaces), and organized traveling libraries.
CLASSIC GREEK & ROMAN ARCHITECTURE IN AMERICA
America’s interest in classical architecture was reborn in the 1890s. Civic leaders thought that classical Roman and Greek architecture would symbolize authority and culture for their growing cities and towns at the turn of the century. The library buildings were constructed in a number of styles, including Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Classical Revival, Greek Revival, and Spanish Colonial, to enhance their appearance as public buildings.
- Renaissance Revival: Library architects frequently combined elements from Greek, Roman, and Italian Renaissance architecture into one design. Drawing inspiration from the palazzos of Italy, the Renaissance Revival buildings were often faced with stone or marble, and had broad overhanging eaves often supported by decorative brackets.
- The Greek Revival-style combined columns and pediments, low-pitched roofs, and white-colored exteriors, with little adornment which made it less expensive to build.
- The Neo-Classical Revival style is similar to the Greek Revival style; however, it differs by its use of elaborate classical detail, usually in the brick or stone, and more massive scale. Another feature is the dentil details (dentils are a series of closely spaced rectangular blocks that form a molding) along the roofline. Neo-Classical buildings had domed or flat roofs, dramatic columns, and achieved more grand scale volumes.
- The Beaux-Arts style features a more liberal use of decorative elements, often having applied sculptural features or statuary adorning the walls or roofline,and commonly executed in light colored stone, especially marble or sandstone. Denver’s Union Station is an example of the Beaux Arts style.
1. BOULDER – Carnegie Library for Local History, 1906
A prominent member of the local branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement, Clara Savory pioneered the “booze to books” idea in Boulder. Having realized that one main barrier to changing drinking habits was that there were few other places to socialize in town at the time, Savory opened a reading room at Spruce and Broadway in 1882 to give men a place to drop in, talk to others, and learn. She didn’t stop there. After petitioning Andrew Carnegie, Savory received a $15,000 grant to open Boulder’s first library in 1907 on Pine Street. Now known as the Carnegie Library for Local History, Savory served as the librarian there for 19 years until her retirement.
Since Boulder was referred to as the “Athens of the West,” architect Thomas McLaren patterned the library after a small Greek temple that had been unearthed in 1905 near Athens. In the Neo-Classical Revival style, it is a large, open, two-story room, complete with fireplace, and was designed to allow librarians to move furniture and stacks to meet the demands of a growing collection.
The Carnegie Library of Boulder was able to keep up with the town’s needs until the population doubled and the books and patrons began to exceed the space. Once the new library on Canyon Boulevard was built, Carnegie’s role in the community diminished and the building began to show signs of deterioration and neglect.
In 1981, Library staff rallied to regain ownership of the building. With the Colorado collection outgrowing space at the Main Library, the entire collection of books, maps, oral histories and documents were moved into the small building on Pine Street. By 1983, the Carnegie was reopened as the Carnegie Library for Local History. The restored oak ceiling beams and wain-scot, marble fireplace, and pine floors shine once again.
In 2023, the library received a fresh addition to its already voluminous collection of historical photographs and glass plate negatives documenting the area’s history from 1850 through 1910. Composed of 3,431 photographs in 49 meticulously labeled albums and 58 glass plate negatives originally collected and catalogued by famed Boulder mountain park ranger Martin Parsons.
• The archive’s resources are non-circulating and must be used in the archive.
It is open by appointment only – Appointments can be scheduled online at: https://calendar.
ADDRESS: 1125 Pine St, Boulder, CO 80302 (next to the Museum of Boulder)
PHONE/WEB: 303-441-3110 • https://boulderlibrary.org/
2. BRUSH: East Morgan County Library, 1915
East Morgan County Library was formerly known as Carnegie Library in 1915. The original building was constructed with help from a grant by the Carnegie Foundation. In the ‘30s and ‘40s, a community band performed outdoor concerts during the summer months on the west side of the building.
In 1981, a mill levy was enacted and two years later a major expansion project took place and the new west wing was constructed. Several trees surround the library including a blue spruce that was planted in honor of George Washington by the Women’s Club of Brush. A stone marker is located underneath the tree with the club’s name on it.
ADDRESS: 500 Clayton Street, Brush, CO 80723. Part of the East Morgan County Library District.
PHONE/WEB: (970) 842-4596 • https://emcld.org
3. CAÑON CITY LIBRARY, 1902
The library holds an important place in the community and we have the Cañon City Ladies Library Association to thank for the beautiful library. One woman in particular, Emma Webster, should be thanked for her passionate efforts to get grant money for a library from Andrew Carnegie Institute.
Emma was a pioneer, having moved to Cañon City with her parents in 1871. In 1882 she married Henry Clay Webster in the Presbyterian Church which once stood on the plot of land where the Carnegie Library was later built. Emma was part of many associations including a charter member of the Friends in Council and a member of the Cañon City Ladies Library Association. The first meeting was held in 1886 with a total of 25 ladies who called the group the Cañon City Ladies Library Association and a book social was held to collect books. Due primarily to it’s newfound position as an agricultural paradise, the city was growing rapidly, but still had no library.
In quick order they recruited the most prominent and powerful women in this frontier town and developed an ambitious plan for the establishment of the Cañon City Free Library and Reading Room. In several short months, these members, which eventually totaled more than 100 ladies, formed “baby buggy brigades” that singularly canvassed the entire town from River Street (now Royal Gorge Boulevard) to Rudd Avenue (the north end of town), soliciting citizens for donations of both cash and books, all of which were carted away in actual buggies. Funds were also raised through bake sales, teas, suppers, and going house-to-house selling memberships in the association for twenty-five cents per month. It was not long before almost every person in town had become a member of the new library.
Originally called The Reading Room, the library’s first location was on Main Street in a rented room. The ladies wrote a letter requesting the grant, and in 1901 a grant of $10,000 was given provided a suitable location could be found. The old Presbyterian Church was to be vacated soon so the ladies decided on the land on Macon Avenue. An additional $3,000 was granted in addition to the original $10,000 once it was realized the cost was slightly higher than originally thought. The library was completed in 1902.
Emma Webster served as the first librarian and she was also in charge of providing janitorial services for a grand salary of $14 per month. The library features numerous historical attributes such as exterior native sandstone walls, mosaic tile floor, golden oak wood trim, and original rolled glass windows.
ADDRESS: 516 Macon Ave, Cañon City, CO 81212
PHONE/WEB: (719) 269-9020 • https://www.ccpl.lib.co.us
4. OLD COLORADO CITY BRANCH, 1904
In 1868, citizens of Colorado City showed an interest in building a library and gained sufficient funds to buy a small collection of books. On January 7, 1896, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Colorado City formally opened and dedicated a library they called the Woods Free Library, named after Mrs. Lydia Woods of Manitou Springs, who had donated $1,000 to purchase books. In 1901, the library was moved to the Templeton Building at 8 North 25th Street. In 1904, the new library on West Pikes Peak Avenue was opened, thanks to a gift from Andrew Carnegie. It is a another great example of Neo-Classical architecture.
When Colorado City was annexed to Colorado Springs in 1917, the library board of directors sold its invested rights and interests to the Colorado Springs Public Library for $1, and it became the West End Branch. Then in May of 1977, it was rededicated as the Old Colorado City Branch Library to reflect the resurgence of historical interest in the area. The 1904 Carnegie building was renovated in 1980, and received additional parking and handicapped access in 1994.
ADDRESS: 2418 West Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
PHONE/WEB: (719) 531-6333, x7006 • https://ppld.org/old-colorado-
5. COLORADO SPRINGS Public Library, 1905
Built using matching funds provided by Andrew Carnegie, the architecture of the 1905 Carnegie Library represents a promise between the library and the citizens of Colorado Springs. From its earliest beginnings, the library was a community hub. With the inclusion of child-sized tables and chairs, the library was made available for all ages.
This 1905 Neo-Classical brick building, with terra cotta trim, is an excellent local example of the architecture associated with the City Beautiful Movement. One side of the library is semicircular with a continuous ornamental balcony with grand views of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains. The building is made of granite, gray Tennessee marble, Breche Violette marble, sandstone, and Roman-shaped gray hydraulic press brick. Inside the library the building has reading rooms, space for 17,000 volumes, an auditorium, and a reference room.
ADDRESS: 2420 W Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
PHONE/WEB: (719) 634-1698 • https://ppld.org
6. DELTA PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1912
The Delta Public Library was built beginning in 1911 through the efforts of the local Woman’s Club who raised $3,400 and the Carnegie Foundation which contributed $6,500 toward the construction. The Delta County Commissioners donated the site for the library. The building was designed by local architect G.R. Fremlee based stock designs provided by the Carnegie Foundation in a Neo-Greek Temple style. The library was constructed of yellow brick with sandstone trim.
The building was dedicated May 20, 1912 with 400 volumes in its collection. A sensitively designed addition was completed in 1984. The library is in good condition and continues to serve the community and county as their public library.
ADDRESS: 211 West 6th Street, Delta, CO
PHONE/WEB: (970) 874-9630 • https://www.historycolorado.
7. DENVER DECKER BRANCH, 1913
Located in South Denver originally opened on June 17, 1913, the branch is named after Sarah Platt Decker, a leader of the women’s suffrage movement and President of the Colorado Board of Charities. In 1894, she started the Colorado Women’s Club, a daring move for that time. Under her direction they were responsible in Denver for free night classes for laborers (especially children), a free employment bureau, free medicine for poor and working mothers, playground supervision, books for the blind, Denver’s first day nursery, the open-shelf system in public libraries, and free seed distribution for neighborhood gardens.
Decker was a forceful advocate in the establishment of Mesa Verde as a national park, and by 1904 was the national president of the nearly one million member Federation of Women’s Clubs. In 1908, she was a delegate to Theodore Roosevelt’s Governor’s Conference on Conservation and Natural Resources. When she died in 1912, she was the first woman to lie in state at the Colorado State Capitol.
The building itself was designed in the English Cottage-style and the interior is donned with early 20th century murals. In 1984, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission designated the Decker branch library a historic landmark.
ADDRESS: 1501 S. Logan Street, Denver, CO 80210
PHONE/WEB: (720) 865-0220
https://www.denverlibrary.org/
8. PARK HILL BRANCH LIBRARY, DENVER, 1920
The Park Hill Branch Library is the 5th oldest Carnegie Library in Denver that is still in use today. Opened in December 1920, the Park Hill branch library is believed to be the last constructed of the 1700+ public libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie in the U.S. It was named for the neighborhood it serves.
This Spanish Renaissance style building features a Spanish tiled roof, stucco exterior walls, and an arched entrance. The under-cornice is stenciled in terracotta and old blue and the lanterns that hang at the entrance door are of wrought iron. Two vases were on either side of the brick steps. The windows are all leaded glass and the ceiling is beamed. The lighting fixtures are quite unique in that they are of rough wrought iron brackets which hold the glass globes. These lighting globes originally were electric battery jars and were made by cutting out the bottoms and inverting the jars. At the end of the adult reading room is an attractive bay window which is supplied with window seats for readers. Window seats also flank the fireplace in the children’s end of the building.
ADDRESS: 4705 Montview Blvd, Denver, CO 80207
PHONE/WEB: (720) 865-0250. •. https://www.denverlibrary.org/
9. “THUNDERBIRD MAN” (BYERS BRANCH), 1920
The branch was originally named after William Byers, the founder of the Rocky Mountain News. The rectangular building is a Spanish Eclectic style with two blind arcades of semicircular arches and Corinthian pilasters flank the main entrance, each holding three windows with protruding sills above plasterwork panels. The entrance sits between fluted Ionic pilasters that rise to support a dentilled cornice and a semicircular dentiled arch. The branch undertook a much-needed $400,000 renovation in 1992, which upgraded the interior, added an additional entrance, and addressed infrastructure maintenance.
In Nov. of 2021, after a two year process, the library renaming committee voted to change the name from Byers Branch Library to the “Thunderbird Man Branch” after John Emhoolah Jr., who was a Korean war vet and a Denver Native American activist and a descendant of survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre. John and his family lived for decades in Denver. He is recognized and admired as an Indigenous educator spanning a 50-year career serving Indigenous students.
The conversation to rename the library really grew traction in 2020, after the nation’s call for social justice. That’s when the library staff started doing their own research on the names of their buildings, and they found out the history of William N. Byers. It was discovered that Byers discriminated against Indigenous people through the news outlet. In the paper, Byers praised the Sand Creek Massacre, which left at least 200 members, mostly women, children and elders, of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes died.
The public celebration for the branch renaming ceremony took place on Nov. 3, 2021 which falls in the Indigenous People’s Heritage Month. This event helped launch a effort embracing diversity, with a new vision, mission and values for the library system that were developed with involvement from staff, partners, commissioners and community.
10. DENVER Old Main LIBRARY (McNichols Civic Cntr), 1910
According to Denver Municipal Facts, Denver’s first library, called the Denver and Auraria Reading Room Associates, was formed in 1860 and was a subscription-based reading room with fees of 25 cents a week.
- In 1874, the Denver Library Association was organized by W. S. Cheesman, W. D. Todd and several other public spirited citizens.
- In June 1889, City Librarian and Museum Director John Cotton Dana established Denver’s first public library in a wing of Denver High School. He referred to it as a “center of public happiness.” He instituted the “open stack” policy under which patrons could freely browse books instead of having a library staff intervene on every request.
In 1909, the cornerstone of what today is known as the McNichols Civic Center Building was laid. It set the foundation for the then Carnegie Library that would become a center of learning in Civic Center Park at the corner of Colfax and Bannock. That tradition continues as Denver Arts & Venues re-opened the building in 2012 as a contemporary hub for arts and culture for the people of Denver. This stunning Greek Revival building with its classic Corinthian columns and iconic colonnade across its front, offers new experiences in a classic space.
At the turn of the century, Denver Mayor Robert Speer embraced the “City Beautiful” movement and acted to build a network of parks and boulevards throughout Denver, with Civic Center Park as a central focal point. Denver Mayor Robert Speer had been exposed to the City Beautiful idea at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He then introduced the City Beautiful movement to Denver, then still a city of dirt streets. Speer was determined to transform Denver from a dusty western city to a “Paris on the Platte”. During his three terms he got 262 miles of storm drains installed, completed the grading and paving of over 300 miles of Denver streets, and installed the first street light system. Over time other architectural masterpieces would come from Speer’s influence such as the City & County Building, Denver Library, Museum of Natural History, Denver Municapal Auditorium, and Speer Boulevard.
The $200,000 Carnegie grant of 1902 facilitated the building of the Main Library in the Civic Center. Carnegie later gave $160,000 to build Denver Public Library’s first eight branches. The Carnegie largesse continues, with the Library receiving a $500,000 grant for literacy programs for at-risk children in 1999.
In 1910, the Carnegie Library opened as the first building in Civic Center Park. The Greek Revival-style building was designed by Albert Ross of New York. By 1955 the library had outgrown its space and moved to a new location on the other side of Civic Center Park and the Denver Water Board moved in. In 1999 the building was renamed McNichols Civic Center Building after Colorado’s 35th governor, Stephen McNichols.
ADDRESS: Civic Center Park, 144 W Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80202
11. DENVER WOODBURY BRANCH, 1912
The Woodbury library was constructed in 1913 in the Renaissance Revival style, and named for Roger Williams Woodbury, a businessman, journalist ( and partial proprietor of the Denver Daily Tribune), President of the Union Bank of Denver, and served as Denver’s first president of the Chamber of Commerce. Some say General Woodbury was one of the most influential men in Denver and Colorado.
Located in a central and prominent neighborhood of Denver, like many Carnegie-funded libraries, the Woodbury Branch Library features a simple but formal appearance. The “Florentine” Renaissance-style of the building is reminiscent of a classical Italian villa with its red clay tile roof, dramatic arched windows and substantial stone pediments. Its one-story rectangular plan and symmetrical facade is highlighted by semicircular arched windows, terra cotta trim and a hipped tile roof.
ADDRESS: 3265 Federal Boulevard, Denver, CO 80211
PHONE/WEB: (720) 865-0930 • https://www.denverlibrary.org/
12. FORT MORGAN PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1916
In 1891, having already convinced the city council to set aside land for a cemetery, 16 determined women met to form the Ladies Association of Fort Morgan. They collected $15, which they spent wisely, buying books that were no longer copyrighted. The Fort Morgan Public Library was born. One of the ladies offered a wagon, and the books were transported, monthly, from home to home, as each lady acted as librarian. The ladies spent the next 10 years raising money to buy more books. The first library benefit play, “The Breakers,” was a success. The $100 profit bought a bookcase and more books.
In 1914, a remarkably persistent county school superintendent, Anna White, began a protracted correspondence with James Bertram, secretary of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, asking for a $10,000 grant to build a Carnegie Library. She, and others, were also persistent in presentations to the city council, because the council had to guarantee 10% of the $10,000 for library maintenance and provide a proper site before the Carnegie Corporation would release the money and the blueprints. The council accepted the conditions of the Carnegie Corporation, and to use the blueprints of the Arts and Crafts-style brick buildings, which identified Carnegie Libraries. On Feb. 25, 1916, after a postponement due to the carpenters not being finished, the Carnegie Library celebrated with a day-long Open House.
ADDRESS: Library Park, 414 Main St, Fort Morgan, CO 80701
PHONE/WEB: (970) 542-4000 • https://cityoffortmorgan.com/
13. IDAHO SPRINGS: Carnegie Library for Local History, 1904
Early in 1903, a group of citizens approached Andrew Carnegie with a request to support the construction of a public library in Idaho Springs. Built according to Carnegie Library specifications by local brick masons, this virtually unaltered gem retains the original floor plan, golden oak card catalog, shelving, and portrait of Andrew Carnegie, who donated $10,000 and the plans. The two-story gray brick classical temple has fluted Doric columns flanking the east entry portico – an example of Colonial Revival-style of architecture and one of the earliest remaining Carnegie libraries existing in Colorado.
ADDRESS: 219 14th Avenue, Idaho Springs, CO 80452
PHONE/WEB: (303) 567-2020 • https://cccld.org
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