Central Library

About this property

The Central Library is the headquarters for the Milwaukee Public Library System as well as for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. Designated a Milwaukee Landmark in 1969, the building remains one of Milwaukee's most monumental public structures. Today, the Central Library occupies almost the entire building with 3 exceptions: the headquarters for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System; the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library; and Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement. A national competition was held in 1893 to pick a design for a building to house both the public library and the public museum. Seventy-four entries were received, including one from Frank Lloyd Wright. The winning design submitted by Ferry & Clas of Milwaukee was for a building one block long and designed in a combination of French and Italian renaissance styles known as Neo-Renaissance. The south facade's colonnade over a base may have been inspired by the east front of the Louvre in Paris. The building was designed in a U-shape to provide a common entrance for the library and museum but to keep the facilities separate. Construction costs for the monumental building, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, were $780,000. In the entrance to the library, mosaic tile floors were hand-laid by master Italian craftsmen who had settled in Milwaukee. Tessera, the small squarish pieces of colored marble or tile, were used in the entrance and in the Art, Music and Recreation Department. The tessera in the entrance floor are smaller than normal, allowing for a more detailed design. Over the years, the building has settled, cracking and damaging the floor and columns. In 2008, a restoration of the mosaic tile floors was begun. Some of the materials used in the interior are yellow Sienna marble, brass and stained glass (lighting fixtures), hardwoods such as oak and mahogany, and scagliola (used for the pillars). The trim on top of the wainscoting in the corridor is called "egg and dart", and is replicated in renovated areas throughout the library. The bay leaf garland design found above the doors in the corridor is actually made of painted plaster, not carved wood. In 1936, as a part of the New Deal, Works Progress Administration laborers assisted in the complete overhaul of the library, from redecorating to repairing the mosaic floors to installing a new lighting system and restoring parts of the study and research collections. In 2009, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District approved additional funding for the Milwaukee Public Library to construct a green roof, replacing the roof built in 1986. The green roof uses a watertight membrane, protective layer, insulation, a filter layer, soil and vegetation to create a roof system. In addition, photovoltaic cells have been installed to convert solar energy into direct current electricity. The green roof is expected to reduce polluted stormwater runoff, urban heat islands, and improve air quality. In the long term, Milwaukee is expected to benefit from reduced costs for water treatment systems and infrastructure. Public tours of the green roof are available on a seasonal basis.

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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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