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Current view of the Eldora Public Library
Courtesy of the Hardin County Community Development Council |
The Eldora Public Library, built from 1902 to 1903, is one of the group
of libraries (see also the Alden Public Library and Carnegie-Ellsworth
Public Library) constructed in Iowa with Carnegie grants and is a vivid reminder
of one of the 20th century's most remarkable philanthropic efforts. In 1853, at
the age of 18, Andrew Carnegie began work for the Pennsylvania Railroad as a telegrapher.
With several shrewd investments, Carnegie soon found himself a wealthy man, but
did not begin to accumulate his staggering fortune until he opened his first steel
mills in the 1870s. In 1901, Carnegie became the world's richest man when he sold
the Carnegie Steel Company for $450 million dollars (approximately $8.6 billion
today.) During his years as a giant of American industry, Carnegie established
a reputation for ruthlessness, instructing his business partners to brutally put
down union strikes and repeatedly slash the wages of the workers who made him
rich. After the sale of Carnegie Steel, Carnegie threw his full energies into
philanthropy and peace, perhaps hoping that donating his wealth to charitable
causes would mitigate the details of its accumulation. In the public memory, he
may have been correct. Today he is most remembered for his generous gifts of music
halls, educational grants, and nearly 3000 public libraries, among them the Eldora
Public Library.
Two historic views of the Eldora Public
Library Courtesy of the Hardin County Community Development Council |
| Representative of the Academic Eclecticism prevalent at the
turn of the century, the Eldora Public Library displays design elements from a
combination of influences. Its facade is constructed of asymmetrical massing of
interesting gables. The exterior exibits a restrained northern Renaissance Revival
style, with a Georgian-inspired doorway, the elliptical pediment of which echoes
the curved shape of the gable above it. The radiating stack room projects substantially
from the rear of the building and is connected to the left-hand reading room through
a diminutive semi-octagonal reference alcove. The interior exhibits elaborate
medieval inspired craftsman with dark woodwork and contrasting light walls, somewhat
atypical of small town libraries. Wall surfaces are divided into panels by dark
wood strips. The building is chiefly significant for its interior, and the plan
is an interesting variation on the standard sexpartite plan. The Eldora
Public Library is located at 1219 14th Ave. south of the Courthouse
in Eldora. It is now an antique store open during normal business hours.
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