Bolivar Public Library, also known as the Carnegie Library of Bolivar and Polk County Genealogical Society Library, is a historic Carnegie library located at Bolivar,

Polk County, Missouri Polk County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 31,137. Its county seat is Bolivar. The county was organized January 5, 1835,Laws of a public and general natu ...

. It was built in 1915, and is a 1 1/2- to two-story, rectangular, brick building with

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style design elements. It has a flat roof and three bay front facade with an elaborate center entranceway and large side window bays. It features intact

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

and tooled

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

ornamentation. It was funded by an $8,000 Carnegie grant from the Carnegie Foundation. (includes 12 photographs from 2003) The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2003. The building no longer contains a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

. Since 2001, it has housed the offices of the Polk County Genealogical Society. The Polk County Library now operates the Bolivar Main Branch library at 1690 W. Broadway in Bolivar.

References

Carnegie libraries in Missouri Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Neoclassical architecture in Missouri Library buildings completed in 1915 Buildings and structures in Polk County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Polk County, Missouri {{PolkCountyMO-NRHP-stub