Type Branch library Architect Brooks Cavin Phone +1 612-543-8375 | Renovated 1990 Opened September 1970 | |
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Former names Washburn Community Library Floor area 18,965 square feet (1,762 m) Address 5244 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419, USA Hours Closed now Saturday9AM–5PMSundayClosedMonday9AM–5PMTuesday12–8PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday12–8PMFriday9AM–5PMSuggest an edit Similar Nokomis Library, Sumner Library, Roosevelt Library, Hosmer Library, Franklin Library | ||
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Washburn Library, formerly Washburn Community Library, is a public library in the Hennepin County Library system. Opened in September 1970, Washburn Library, located at 5244 Lyndale Avenue South, began with a footprint of 14,451 square feet (1,342.5 m2) and approximately 18,000 books. Designed by Brooks Cavin, an architect who studied under Walter Gropius and Eero Saarinen, Washburn reflected mid-century modernism. Set near Minnehaha Creek, Washburn meets the needs of Southwest Minneapolis in a picturesque neighborhood.
Contents
- Video for washburn library
- Video to raise funds for washburn library in minneapolis
- Updates to the library
- Art at the library
- References
Patron traffic quickly rose and broke all records: to meet demand, library staff requested other branches to share their materials. Phonograph albums and children's books were particularly popular. In the first year of service, Washburn circulated 273,000 books, higher than any other Minneapolis Public Library branch at the time.
Named for William D. Washburn, who was a founder of Washburn-Crosby Milling Company, and a United States Senator, Washburn Library's public art includes a millstone, honoring Minneapolis' heritage as a grain milling center in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Washburn-Crosby Milling Company is now known as General Mills.
Video to raise funds for washburn library in minneapolis
Updates to the library
Approaching its 20th anniversary in 1989, the Washburn branch needed to be expanded and updated to meet patrons' needs. The community it served had expanded, including more children living in the neighborhoods, and demand was bustling for materials. In fact, it was the busiest of Minneapolis's 14 neighborhood branch libraries.
In 1990, Minneapolis Public Library leadership determined that the library was in need of significant remodeling and approved an expanded footprint of 18,965 square feet, a 28% increase. In serving the neighborhoods of Lynnhurst, Kenny, Armatage, Tangletown, Windom, Field, Page, Hale and Diamond Lake, it was noted in particular that significant after-school use by children warranted improving services and spaces for their use. The space needed to better meet the needs of the community's patrons: deferred maintenance needed to be performed on the building, and technology upgrades were overdue. Leonard Parker and Associates were chosen to develop the plans.
In 2014, a six-week long update to the building resulted in an open floor plan, more space for children and teens, new furniture and shelves, including technology tables for the public computers, and more electrical outlets for powering portable electronics.
Art at the library
Joining the millstone in the external landscape, the update to the Washburn added a sculpture by Ann Wolfe, Mother and Child, and a large and bright whimsical mural by In Virginia Bradley on the domed ceiling of the children's area.