National Register of Historic Places

Anamosa Public Library

Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa
Listed
May 22, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83000380

About this property

The Anamosa Library & Learning Center, formerly the Anamosa Public Library, is located in Anamosa, Iowa, United States. The original building, built in 1903, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. A new facility, with triple the floor space of the old, was opened to the public in 2004. The public library had its beginnings in 1900 when former resident Walter S. Benton bequeathed $10,000 to buy library books if the city built a library building by 1903. The city and the estate failed to reach an agreement, so the Francis Shaw Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution took over leadership of the effort and raised the necessary funds. Chicago architect Dwight H. Perkins designed the single-story Romanesque Revival-style building that was built of native limestone. The side-gabled structure featured a reading room on one side of the building and the book stacks on the other. A delivery desk was located in the center. By the 1990s the historic building was becoming too small and technologically insufficient. Ernest J. Buresh, formerly of Anamosa, donated the property for a new library, and the Buresh family also offered $500,000 towards a new library contingent on the community raising a million dollars by December 2002. OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids designed the new 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) building. The necessary funds were raised without a bond referendum. The present library building, also composed of native limestone, was opened on November 8, 2004. The original building now houses the Anamosa Police Department.

Location

100 E. 1st St.
Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa
42.10650, -91.28493

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Booth, Edmund and Mary Ann Walworth, House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Jones County Court House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Iowa Men's Reformatory Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
Shaw, Col. William T. and Elizabeth C., House
Industrial
0.7 mi
Rick's Brewery
Industrial
0.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Anamosa Public Library listed on the National Register?

Anamosa Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Anamosa Public Library?

Anamosa Public Library is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Anamosa Public Library?

The period of significance for Anamosa Public Library is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Anamosa Public Library?

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