Lincoln Branch Peoria Public Library
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Lincoln Branch Peoria Public Library | |
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| Location | 1312 W. Lincoln Ave., Peoria, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 40°40′53″N 89°36′52″W / 40.68139°N 89.61444°W |
| Built | 1910-11 |
| Built by | John J. McDonald |
| Architect | Hotchkiss & Harris |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 14000256[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 28, 2014 |
The Lincoln Branch Peoria Public Library is a Carnegie library located at 1312 West Lincoln Avenue in Peoria, Illinois.[2] Built in 1910, the building served as the first dedicated library building on Peoria's South Side. The South Side branch library opened in 1903 in a building called the Neighborhood House; however, it had outgrown its space in the building by 1909. The city petitioned the Carnegie Foundation for funding for a new library and the Foundation provided a $20,000 grant for the building.[3] The city passed a $2,000 annual tax to cover the library's maintenance. Peoria architecture firm Hotchkiss & Harris supplied a Classical Revival design for the building, and construction began in 1910 and was completed the following year. The new building was dedicated on June 16, 1911.[3]
The library became popular with neighborhood residents, setting city records for daily circulation; it also held special collections serving the city's Lebanese and German immigrant communities.[2]
With $500,000 from the Plaedes Foundation, the Lincoln Branch was remodeled in 1993.[3] In June 2009, the library was designed by the City of Peoria as a local historic landmark.[4] The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 2014.[1] In 2014, the Peoria Historical Society awarded the library a Historic Preservation Award.[5]
