Drake 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

Centerville, Iowa Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville's coal mining industry attracted ...

, United States. It was established in 1901, and the building was placed 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 1997.

History

Previous to the establishment of a public library, Centerville had a reading room founded by the Ladies of the Reading Room Library Association Group in 1896. Around the turn of the 20th century citizens started to investigate the possibility of establishing a library and approaching the

Carnegie Corporation of New York 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 ...

to fund a new building. They approached Francis M. Drake, a former

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

General, local attorney, banker, businessman,

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and philanthropist to join their effort. He refused saying he would prefer to fund the new library himself. Drake sent an official proposal to the city council on April 9, 1901. He would donate both the new building and the books with the requirement that the city was to maintain the building and take care of the annual expenses. The building was designed in the Neoclassical style by

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

architect C.E. Eastman. J.W. Sanderson of

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 ...

was contracted to build the new library for $23,521. Its dedication was held on January 15, 1903. A handicapped entrance and an elevator were added to the building in 1986. Renovation of the glass dome was done in 2003, and an interior renovation was completed in 2008.

Architecture

The brick structure is two stories in height, and built on a raised foundation. The central pavilion of the main facade features columns in the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

and a shallow dome over the center of the roof. Heavy

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s frame the center and are capped with large stone orbs. The two entrance doors are reached by a large exterior staircase. Two rectangular wings extend from the pavilion. The north wing originally housed the books, while the south wing housed the reading rooms. The circulation desk is in the

rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

, which is capped with a

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

dome. A curving staircase that was originally located in the east side of the rotunda has been replaced by the elevator, and a new staircase was built in the northeast corner.

References

{{authority control Library buildings completed in 1903 Centerville, Iowa Public libraries in Iowa Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Appanoose County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Appanoose County, Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa