The Elizabeth Public Library is the free
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 servants.
There are five fundamen ...
of
. Serving a population of approximately 127,558, its collection contains 342,305 volumes, circulating 190,581 items annually from its four locations.
Locations
*Main Library - 11 South Broad Street
*LaCorte Branch Library - 408 Palmer Street
*Elmora Branch Library - 730 W. Grand Street
*Elizabethport Branch Library - 102-110 Third Street
Carnegie library building
Elizabeth's Main Library was built during the "free library movement" at the turn of the 20th century in part with the impetus of
Charles N. Fowler, US Congressman from
Union County. It is one of
New Jersey's original thirty-six Carnegie libraries, which by the 1940s had become one of the busiest libraries of its size in the USA.
Records show that millionaire
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...
granted $130,810 made February 3, 1910, for the main and no longer existing Liberty Plaza branch libraries. Opened in 1912, the building, reminiscent of an Italian
palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
and the
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...
was designed by
Edward Lippincott Tilton
Edward Lippincott Tilton (19 October 1861 – 5 January 1933) was an American architect, with a practice in New York City, where he was born. He specialized in the design of libraries, completing about one hundred in the U.S. and Canada, inc ...
,
who had designed many other
Carnegie libraries as well as the immigration station at
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...
. It is a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...
to the
Midtown Historic District, a state and federal
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...
established in 1994–1995.
The Main Library is the
Federal Depository Library for Union County.
See also
*
List of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey
The following list of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey provides information on United States Carnegie libraries in New Jersey, where 36 libraries were built from grants totaling $1,066,553 awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1900 ...
*
References
External links
*
Library Thing
{{Authority control
Library buildings completed in 1912
Education in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Carnegie libraries in New Jersey
Tourist attractions in Union County, New Jersey
Beaux-Arts architecture in New Jersey
Buildings and structures in Elizabeth, New Jersey
1912 establishments in New Jersey
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey