The Aitkin Public Library, built in 1911, is the only East Central Regional Library branch to have received funds from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. It served the Aitkin, Minnesota community until 1991 when a new library was built. Founded in 1959, ECRL is the oldest existing regional public library system in Minnesota. Headquartered in Cambridge, it is a consolidated library system with 14 libraries and Outreach Services and serves residents in Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties.
Bde Maka Ska Park refectory building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bde Maka Ska is Dakota for "White Earth Lake," and was previously known as "Lake Calhoun."
Birdseye view of the Stillwater Lift Bridge and the Commander Building in Stillwater, Minnesota. The Stillwater Lift Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge crossing the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota, and Houlton, Wisconsin. It first opened to traffic in 1931.
The Brunswick Inn is located at 114 Chestnut Street East Stillwater, Minnesota. Known as the Brunswick House, this building was constructed by William C. Penny, a carpenter by trade, about 1848, the same year in which Stillwater was platted as a town and the year the territorial convention took place. In 1849 the first meeting of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) in Minnesota took place in the upstairs of the house. The Pennys sold the house in 1863 to Julius Brunswick. Brunswick, from Switzerland, worked in the mercantile trade.
First Street North, looking south, St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Hays Theatre was demolished in 1977, and the St. Cloud Public Library was constructed in its place.
Corner of Fourth Avenue South and West St. Germain, St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Hays Theatre was demolished in 1977, and the library was constructed in its place. On the right is the old U.S. Federal Building and Post Office, which at the time of this image was being used as St. Cloud's City Hall.
Facing the intersection of West St. Germain and Fourth Avenue South. The old U.S. Federal Building and Post Office, which at the time of this image was being used as St. Cloud's City Hall is at upper left.
Books are stacked awaiting processing at the circulation desk of the St. Cloud Public Library's Carnegie building. The building stood at 124 Fifth Avenue South from 1902 until it was torn down in 1981. This image was part of a presentation used to persuade the community that the library had outgrown its space and needed a new building. Circulation staffer Yvette Spoden Stueve is seen here at the typewriter.
This is the circulation desk of the St. Cloud Public Library's Carnegie building which stood at 124 Fifth Avenue South from 1902 until it was torn down in 1981. This image was part of a presentation used to persuade the community that the St. Cloud Public Library had outgrown its space and needed a new building. Reference Librarian Sara Magee is seated in the back at the desk facing the camera.
The inscription on the plaque from the dedication of the St. Cloud Public Library's Carnegie building reads, "This tablet is inscribed to Andrew Carnegie through whose generosity this building has been erected upon a site donated by the Ladies Reading Room Society, 1902."
Construction of an addition to the East Central Regional Library Headquarters building in Cambridge, Minnesota, began in 1974 with Director Darro Willey (shown) in charge of the project. Founded in 1959, ECRL is the oldest existing regional public library system in Minnesota. Headquartered in Cambridge, it is a consolidated library system with 14 libraries and Outreach Services and serves residents in Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties.
Construction of an addition to East Central Regional Library Headquarters in Cambridge, Minnesota, began in 1974, with the addition built between the existing library (in the foreground with the vertical construction slats) and the courthouse to the north. Founded in 1959, ECRL is the oldest existing regional public library system in Minnesota. Headquartered in Cambridge, it is a consolidated library system with 14 libraries and Outreach Services and serves residents in Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties.
The Ann Bean house is located at 319 Pine Street West in Stillwater, Minnesota. In 1879, the Stillwater Lumberman in noted ""Edward Hersey about to build on lots at Pine and Sixth."" Behind those few words are numerous associations: the construction of another opulent home for another of Stillwater's well-to-do lumber families, the possible involvement of architect George Orff in his second home for a Hersey brother, and the abundant use of large, eye-catching architectural elements. The Victorian home offers a virtual laundry list of stylistic elements: a tower, a veranda, a gable, a large chimney, and a two-story bay. While calling such an elaborate structure a ""starter home"" seems strange, Edward Hersey did indeed decide to start over with a new home, selling the house to fellow lumberman Jacob Bean in May, 1881 and building a new home at 320 Pine in 1883. In 1889, Jacob Bean was appointed to the prestigious and powerful position of surveyor general of logs, with the St. Paul Daily globe noting he was ""considerably more than half millionaire, and one of the heaviest log dealers in the Northwest. "" (February 3, 1889) As a political appointment, he held this position until 1893. Cynthia and Jacob made a permanent move to the Alhambra home in Stillwater in 1901, and the Lehmicke family became the home's long-term residents. In recognition of Ann Bean Lehmicke's long association with the house, it became known as the Ann Bean Mansion over time.
This is an early photograph of the St. Cloud Public Library's Carnegie building which stood at 124 Fifth Avenue South from 1902 until it was torn down in 1981.
In the summer of 1979, the St. Cloud Public Lbrary moved from its 1902 Carnegie building at 124 Fifth Avenue South to a successor building at 405 West Germain Street. This photograph of the exterior of the building was taken on moving day. The National Guard assisted with the move. Carts of library materials were moved fully loaded onto trucks, in Dewey Decimal order.
This photograph was shot from the corner of 5th Avenue South and 2nd Street South. The St. Cloud Public Library's Carnegie building stood at 124 Fifth Avenue South from 1902 until it was torn down in 1981. The American Linen building is on the left. Behind the library on the right is the former Unity Church, which was purchased by the City of St. Cloud in 1936 and renamed the Community Building. Stearns County Library occupied this structure from the early 1940s until the creation of the Great River Regional Library System in 1969, after which it housed the Branch and Bookmobile Department at GRRL.