Civic Pride in a Lost America: Library Postcards
Carnegie Libraries of Indiana
Cities S-Z
Salem
1904 grant. Still in use as the Salem-Washington Township Public Library, and looking swell.
(L) 1909 card, likely by C.U. Williams.
(R) Curt Teich 'C.T. Photo-Finish' card, stamped and written upon, but never mailed. Despite the 1931 code, it bears a late 1950s Jefferson 2 cent stamp.
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Scottsburg
1917 grant: did not open until 1921.
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It appears as if the old building is still in use with a large addition.
The entrance to this building is, well, odd. The peaked lintel is embedded in a section of some type of vitreous tile or glass. It looks miniaturized as a result.
Seymour
(L) Curt Teich monochrome card. It also was issued in color as part of the 'American Art' series.
(R) 'Litho-Chrome' card, printed in Germany.
Seymour's most prominent son: John Mellencamp.
1903 Carnegie grant, per Bobinski.
The library is now part of the Jackson County Public Library, and is still in service, with a huge addition.
Shelbyville
1901 Carnegie grant.
Still in use, with an inharmonious addition, as the Shelbyville - Shelby County Library.
(L) Litho-Chrome brand card.
(R) This Dexter Press card probably dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s. Many of these chrome postcards scan poorly at a practical resolution.
Shoals
1913 grant.
Library Occurrent, v. 3-4, describes the building as being built of 'Loogootee mat-face brick, chocolate in color, with chocolate mortar,' with Bedford stone and a red tile roof. It was designed by Wilson B. Parker.
From a 2009 photo on Flickr, it appears totally unchanged from this 1950s postcard.
Spencer
(L) This Hoover Watson Printing card wasn't mailed until 1916, when the purchaser divided its entire back himself.
(R) The earlier of two L.L. Cook photo postcards of the Library (and the Church of the Nazarene).
Early 1911 Carnegie grant. The library is now the Owen County Public Library; the building, which served the Library until 1997, the Owen County Heritage and Culture Center. Its architect was Wilson B. Parker; and its builder, A.E. Kemmer. The National Register of Historic Places application also calls this Craftsman style.
Sullivan
Still in use, more or less as is.
Wowza! Or, as Hoosier Indiana calls it, Pseudo Mannerist.
It's now known as the Sullivan County Public Library. The county district is unusual in that it encompasses the 1903 Sullivan Carnegie building and the 1917 Merom Carnegie building, plus the Carlisle library, once housed in a Carnegie building.
Curt Teich postcard.
Syracuse
1917 Carnegie grant: building finally opened in 1921. It doesn't look as if a dime was wasted on any frills.
Although the library's website gives details of its early history, it doesn't say whether the Carnegie building is still in use. I believe it to be, based on Wikipedia information.
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This is an Auburn Post Card.
Tell City
Another late grant (1916). Heavily remodeled in 1967 and 1982. Replaced in 2002.
Now the Perry County Historical Society.
Delightfully detailed Curt Teich card. Notice the retaining walls. I believe that the building behind was a school.
Tipton
(L) Lithochrome card with message dated in September, 1921.
(R) Rotograph card, with entire back, mailed in late 1906.
Tipton, Iowa's Carnegie grant came only three months after this March, 1902 grant.
Damaged structurally (the library does not disclose how) in 1981 and replaced.
The building strongly resembled the Carnegie building in Hoopeston, Illinois.
Union City
(L) Early monochrome card from the Illustrated Post Card Company of New York.
(R) Commercialchrome card with a divided back.
1903 grant. Still in use, per Waymarking.
Valparaiso
Odd mashup of Italianate and Prairie styles.
1906 grant, per Bobinski. 1911 grant, per the Porter County Public Library System 's history page. Building replaced in 1984. Demolished ca. 1994.
'Commercialchrome' card mailed late 1921.
Vincennes
1910 grant: still in use.
I wasn't able to find a card of Indiana's singular Collegiate Gothic (per an 18 June 2002 article in the Vincennes Sun-Commercial) library until 2014, which is odd, considering the size of the town and its publisher's (Curt Teich) size. At that, I'm not certain of its age, despite the 119088 production code.
Wabash
(L) Not a radical difference in this card from some of my others, except for the charming mother and son in the foreground. At first this looks like a Tuck's card, but it came from Hugh C. Leighton.
(R) Attractive postcard resembles a cyanotype.
1901 grant. Still in use.
Noted for its stained glass dome. 8,500 sq. ft. addition in 1972, which is shown on the Werking Studio chrome card. It adds that John F. Wing of Ft. Wayne designed the original building, and J. Parke Randall the new wing.
Walton
Late 1914 grant: speedily completed and dedicated in 1915. Still in use with a large addition.
(L) Photo postcard with misspelled caption:
Carnigie Library
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(R) National Press postcard, from another Chicago firm. They published great subjects, but in lousy quality.
Mailed 1964.
Warsaw (Wayne Township Public Library)
(L) Curt Teich American Art brand card dates from 1916.
(R) The E.C. Kropp card bears a name--Warsaw and Wayne Township Public Library--not seen on the Library's history page.
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1916 grant. The library took over Masonic Temple property in 1987 for its 1996-1998 expansion. Few traces of the original, Italianate/Prairie building remain.
Washington
(L) Early self-framed card, with an unevenly divided back. Mailed in 1909.
(R) Gilbert card for B.H. Grimes. There is a fountain on the left of the card.
1901 grant. Still in use, but heavily altered.
Waterloo
(L) Auburn Post Cards always show their subject with warts and all. As a state highway (now known as 427), South Wayne Street was a little bit lacking. The electric pole is blazed instead of a road sign, likely dating the image to pre-1926.
(R) J. Inbody photo postcard, showing many details including a girl in front of ornamental plants.
1913 grant. Still in use. Now known as the Waterloo-Grant Public Library.
Whiting
Two P.L. Huckins photo postcards. Huckins was a Chicago photographer, with an studio on 1137 Barry Avenue. He seemed to have a smaller geographic range than did C.R. Childs, a contemporary who worked out of Chicago.
(R) Behold a Curt Teich 'C.T. Art-Colortone' card, which is unbelievably less colorful than the original building.
I have no words. This is an amazing library building. Built in 1905, it stands on land donated by the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, aka. Amoco, now known as bp.
Architect Paul Moratz certainly made his mark on Indiana as well as Illinois and Wisconsin.
Winamac
(L) For a Wayne Paper Box & Printing postcard, this looks somewhat older. Its image is derived from an earlier photo postcard.
(R) Grogan Photo Company, of Danville, Ill., photo card. The style of awnings is mid-century. If the name is correct as 'Winamac Library,' the card likely dates between the late 1940s and 1953.
1911 grant. The Library's history page states that the grant was received in 1914, and the building opened in 1916. It was remodeled in 1983 and 1997.
Anyway, it's still in use as the Pulaski County Public Library.
Other iterations include:
1953: Winamac-Monroe Public Library
1965: Pulaski County Public Library
Winchester
1906 grant but its building wasn't dedicated until 1916.
Not quite as spectacular as the Winchester, Illinois Carnegie library building, but quite pleasing in its own right.
(L) Wayne Paper Box & Printing card, with aluminized border.
(R) A 'Commercialchrome' card.
