Taylors Falls Public Library is the
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 ...
of
Taylors Falls, Minnesota, United States, still operating in its original 19th-century building. Originally constructed as a tailor shop in 1854, the building was remodeled and converted into a library in 1887. Taylors Falls Public Library was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1970 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and education.
It was nominated for being an intact example of small-town libraries as they existed before
Carnegie libraries and
bookmobile
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
s and for its
Carpenter Gothic/
Stick style architecture.
Description
Taylors Falls Public Library is a one-story, two-room building measuring long and wide. It is of wood
frame construction with
clapboard siding on a
sandstone foundation. The front door is capped by a
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
canopy and flanked by Stick-style windows with
Eastlake movement decorations. Elaborately sawn and
turned ornaments adorn the
bargeboards and front façade. A
lean to abuts the rear.
Inside the front room features a plastered
barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
ceiling, while the back room has a pressed
tin ceiling
A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with plates of tin with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were also ...
.
History
The building was originally constructed as a simple
tailor shop in 1854 by John Jacob Spengler, who operated his business in the front and lived in the back room with his family. Spengler sewed uniforms for
Union soldiers during the
American Civil War. In 1887 the building was sold to the Taylors Falls Library Association for use as a library. Thomas Peck converted the building to its new use and added ornamentation typical of the late 19th century. The rear lean-to was added sometime later.
The library continues to operate in the building, with a collection of 10,000 items.
See also
*
References
External links
Taylor Falls Public Library
{{authority control
Taylors Falls, Minnesota
1887 establishments in Minnesota
Buildings and structures in Chisago County, Minnesota
Carpenter Gothic architecture in Minnesota
Commercial buildings completed in 1854
Education in Chisago County, Minnesota
Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Library buildings completed in 1887
National Register of Historic Places in Chisago County, Minnesota
Public libraries in Minnesota
Shingle Style architecture in Minnesota