The Mount Pleasant Library at 1600 Lamont Street, NW in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
is a branch of the
District of Columbia Public Library
The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is the public library system for Washington, D.C. The system includes 26 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, DCPL's central library.
History
In October 1895, ...
System that opened in May 1925, and is the third oldest public library building still in use in Washington.
History
Construction of the Mount Pleasant Branch was funded primarily by the
Carnegie Corporation
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world.
Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...
and was built to serve the rapidly growing communities of
Mount Pleasant and
Columbia Heights. The architect,
Edward Lippincott Tilton
Edward Lippincott Tilton (October 19, 1861 – January 5, 1933) was an American architect, with a practice in New York City, where he was born. He specialized in the design of libraries, completing about one hundred in the U.S. and Canada, incl ...
of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, was an accomplished library designer who planned numerous libraries
nationwide. The library site at Lamont and 16th Streets was made available for purchase by
Mary Foote Henderson
Mary Foote Henderson (July 21, 1842 – July 16, 1931) was an American author, real estate developer, and social activist from the U.S. state of New York who was known as "The Empress of Sixteenth Street". Henderson was a notable advocate of wom ...
who was instrumental in the development of
16th Street in the early 20th century. The
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
design of the building harmonizes with the monumental architecture of the churches and embassies that line 16th Street. The Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library stands in the Mount Pleasant National Register Historic District designated in 1987.
The Mount Pleasant Library was the third and last DC Neighborhood Library to be built with Carnegie funding.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
had funded the construction of the Central Library and, at its dedication in 1903, he offered to finance branch buildings as they were needed.
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
was slow to authorize the acceptance of his offer. In 1910, it authorized acceptance of funds for the first Carnegie Neighborhood Library which opened in
Takoma Park
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree ...
in 1911. By the time the Board of Library Trustees next sought funds for a Neighborhood Library, Carnegie had died without providing in his will for the construction of additional libraries. The Carnegie Corporation honored the promise by granting the Trustees’ requests for the funding of two more branches, the
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
Branch in 1921 and Mount Pleasant in 1923.
One of the most distinguishing features of the building today is the murals painted during the 1930s by
Aurelius Battaglia under a
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
program. The murals depict a fantastical world where the animals take over the circus. With the lion as the ringmaster and the hippos as ballerinas, the murals may have served as studies for Walt Disney's ''Fantasia'' for which Battaglia worked as an illustrator years later.
In October 2012, the District of Columbia completed an $11.5 million renovation and expansion of the historic building. The project included expanding into a new building at the rear of the property and a glass atrium linking to two spaces. There is a new 100-person meeting room as well as dedicated space for teens. The lower level houses adult non-fiction while the main level contains adult fiction and a large collection of Spanish-language materials. The upper level is dedicated to children and includes a performance space and a dedicated space for very young children. The project removed a three-level stack of cast-iron shelving and a sunroom and aimed to reach a minimum of
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
Silver for its sustainability and energy efficiency.
In literature
*
Florence King
Florence Virginia King (January 5, 1936 – January 6, 2016) was an American novelist, essayist and columnist.
While her early writings focused on the American South and those who live there, much of King's later work was published in ''Natio ...
spoke of going to the Library branch with her father in her memoir, ''Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady''.
See also
*
District of Columbia Public Library
The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is the public library system for Washington, D.C. The system includes 26 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, DCPL's central library.
History
In October 1895, ...
*
List of Carnegie libraries in Washington, D.C.
*
Mount Pleasant, Washington, D.C.
Mount Pleasant is a Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with restaurants and stores centered along a commercial c ...
References
External links
Branch Information - DC Public LibraryFriends of the Mount Pleasant LibraryFlickr - photos of the murals
{{coord, 38.9305, -77.0372, type:landmark_region:US-DC, display=title
Library buildings completed in 1925
Carnegie libraries in Washington, D.C.
Edward Lippincott Tilton buildings
Renaissance Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
Public libraries in Washington, D.C.
Works Progress Administration in the District of Columbia
Mount Pleasant (Washington, D.C.)