Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch
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Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch | |
 Front of the library | |
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| Location | 604 S. 10th St., Louisville, Kentucky |
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| Coordinates | 38°14′59″N 85°46′3″W / 38.24972°N 85.76750°WCoordinates: 38°14′59″N 85°46′3″W / 38.24972°N 85.76750°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architect | McDonald & Dodd; Lortz & Frey Planing Mill Co. |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | 75000771[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 6, 1975 |
The Louisville Free Public Library, Western Colored Branch is a Carnegie library, the first public library built for African-Americans. Also known as Louisville Free Public Library, Western Branch, it is a branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system.[2]
History
The library was opened in 1905, originally located at 1125 West Chestnut Street in three rooms rented from a private residence. Albert Ernest Meyzeek, principal of Central High School at the time, was concerned about the lack of adequate reading and reference materials at the school.[3] He challenged the 1902 legislation that created the Louisville Free Public Library system, on the basis that it did not adequately serve African-Americans, and persuaded the city council to open a branch to fill this need.
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build a new library building, designed by McDonald & Dodd, which opened in 1908. The library was well received by the community and was proclaimed successful by the librarians.[4] The library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1]
Several prominent African-American librarians worked in the Western Branch and assisted in educating and outreach to the local black community. Of particular note is Rachel Davis Harris, a female African-American librarian who was influential in providing services to the Louisville African-American community during the Jim Crow era in the South.
In 2001 Prince anonymously donated $12,000 to keep the library from closure. [5]
References
- 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ It is not however the first Carnegie library built for African-Americans. Built in 1907 and opened the following year, it is predated by an academic library which opened in 1902 at Tuskegee University (a historically black university)
- ↑ "The Record of Albert Ernest Meyzeek" (1947). Negro History Bulletin, 10(8)p.186-187
- ↑ "A Separate Flame". Retrieved 2011-12-12.
- ↑ Chipman, Melissa (April 21, 2016). "Prince made secret donation to support Louisville’s historic Western Branch Library in 2001". Insider Louisville. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
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