 |
• • •
Carnegie Library Ruins
Enid's old Carnegie library, 1972, in ruins right before it was demolished. Located on Independence.
More about Enid's famed library:
Carnegie Library
The Carnegie Library was built in 1909-1910, after statehood was granted to Oklahoma in 1907. The library opened August 1, 1910.
The original Carnegie grant from 1903 was for $10,000.00. It was later increased to $17,500.00 in December of 1907, after pleas of increased need and population were submitted. The lot was purchased for $4,000.00 in 1908. A. A. Crowell was the architect. The Enid Carnegie Library served Enid as a public library from 1910 until 1964.
The need for a new library building encouraged city leaders to seek a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. In 1908 a grant of $25,000 was accepted and the site at 402 North Independence was purchased. The Enid Carnegie Library officially opened August 1, 1910.
In the 1920s and 30s, the library had trouble with funding and costly building repairs. In 1938, Mrs. Amy Carl organized a Friends of the Library group, which helped contribute materials and funds to the struggling library. The 1940s and 50s continued to be rough for the library, with appropriation cuts from the city government and a rapidly deteriorating building.
In 1957, a bond issue was defeated by 700 votes that would have provided for a new building. By that time, the Carnegie Library was widely considered unsafe and had been condemned by the State Fire Marshall. In 1959, the Enid Public Library and the Garfield County library merged, becoming the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County. Another bond issue was brought before the voters in 1963, this time backed by the Chamber of Commerce and a very active group of local supporters. The bond was passed by a two-to-one margin, and the County Commission offered the land for the building which was the site of the former post office. The new library was dedicated on October 18, 1964.
The library stood empty for eight years after the new library was completed. Two years later, the city of Enid sold the Carnegie for $8,025 to Ronald Petty, a man in the construction business who wanted to turn the building into offices. Unfortunately the building was in such bad shape there were no takers.
In 1971, for $1, Petty transferred the deed to the Maine Nazarene Church—his own congregation. When the Nazarenes did not have the money to fix the building, the fire marshal and the city engineer delivered an ultimatum on the building. On December 21, 1971, the city council voted unanimously to declare the building a “public nuisance” and gave the church 90 days to raze it.
The Enid Carnegie is another example of a building that did not feature classical architectural elements, but rather had an interesting dome and balustrade along the roofline, and an extruded square front entrance with highly decorative elements around the front door. One finds a mix of Renaissance / Baroque architectural elements, and also a nod to the emerging style of Louis Sullivan here.
More information and pictures to come...
|
|
|
 |
