The Burlington Public Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

located in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

, United States. It dates back to 1868. The library is currently located on Court Street. The previous library building on Fourth Street was individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. It was then added as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Heritage Hill Historic District in 1982.

History

The Burlington Public Library traces its origin to a subscription library that was created in two rooms located in city hall in 1868. It was established by

US Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

James Wilson Grimes who contributed $5,000 of his own money to the effort. Local philanthropist Philip M. Crapo suggested that a new library building be constructed. He offered $20,000 of his own money for the project if the city council matched his gift, which they did. with Crapo also provided the funds for many of the furnishings in the building as well.

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

architect T.S. Hoyt designed the building in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The builder, J. C. Sutherland, modified the plans and it was constructed in more of a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

style from 1896 to 1898. The total cost of the project was $55,000. The ground was broken for the present library building in October 2004. Funding for the project came from the Friends of the Burlington Public Library Foundation, private contributions raised by a capital campaign, the city of Burlington, a Vision Iowa Grant, and Des Moines County. It was opened for the first time on November 13, 2006. The library won the Main Street Iowa Award for the Best Community Initiated Development Project in 2007. The library is heated and cooled by a geothermal system that is fed by 132 wells under the parking lot. The old library building became the home of the Des Moines County Historical Society museum.

References

{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1898 Library buildings completed in 2006 Buildings and structures in Burlington, Iowa Renaissance Revival architecture in Iowa Public libraries in Iowa Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines County, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa