Area less than one acre NRHP Reference # 79000922 Phone +1 712-546-5004 | Built 1904 Opened 1904 Added to NRHP 26 March 1979 | |
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Location 200 CentralLe Mars, Iowa Address 46 1st St SW, Le Mars, IA 51031, USA Hours Closed now Monday9AM–8PMTuesday9AM–8PMWednesday9AM–8PMThursday9AM–8PMFriday9AM–6PMSaturday9AM–1PMSundayClosed Similar Sioux Center Public Lib, Cherokee Library, Hawarden Public Library, Alton Public Library, Le Mars Chamber of Comm Profiles | ||
Le Mars Public Library is located in Le Mars, Iowa, United States. A group of local women organized a library association in 1876, and their collection of books was housed in various commercial buildings around town. The city took over the operation and support of the library in 1885,and the books were housed in rooms above the city offices. The community approached the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant to build a library building, and its application was accepted on January 22, 1903. The total grant paid by the Carnegie Corporation was $12,000. John Werling designed the single-story Renaissance Revival building. The exterior walls are of pink-buff brick and the high basement walls are of rock-faced granite. The main entrance protrudes slightly from the main facade, and it is capped with triangular pediment. Within the tympanum are the initials "A.C." for Andrew Carnegie.
The Carnegie building was dedicated on January 1, 1904, and it continued to serve community until it became to small. It was replaced by the present building in 1976. The old building was rededicated as the Le Mars Civic Center, and housed the Le Mars Arts Council and Le Mars Chamber of Commerce. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The chamber moved out in 1991, and the building is now known as the Le Mars Arts Center.