Lake View's
Libraries,
Bookstores, Post Offices,
and the Newspapers
The Library
Evolution
After the Great Chicago Fire, which began October 8, A.H.
Burgess of London proposed an “English Book Donation,” which he described in
the Chicago Tribune on December 7: “I propose that England should present a
Free Library to Chicago, to remain there as a mark of sympathy now, and a
keepsake and a token of true brotherly kindness forever…”
The plan carried the support of Thomas Hughes, a
prominent member of Parliament and the well-known author of Tom Brown’s School
Days, who had visited Chicago in 1870.
The donation, consisting of more than 8,000 books from
Great Britain, prompted leading citizens of Chicago to petition for a public
meeting to establish a free public library. Previous libraries in Chicago were
private organizations that required membership fees. The public meeting led to
the Illinois Library Act of 1872, which authorized cities to establish
tax-supported libraries throughout the state. - Chicago Public Library
“I propose that England should present a Free Library to Chicago, to remain there as a mark of sympathy now, a keepsake a token of true brotherly kindness forever'.
Central libraries started thinking critically about how
to best serve geographically broader communities. Beginning in the late 1890s,
central libraries opened smaller branches in cities to accommodate the
explosion of urban population growth. As immigrants set up their own
communities away from the more expensive city centers, new branch libraries
helped provide services to these new enclaves.
below photo - Chicago Public Library
According to the Chicago Public Library,
"As Chicago's reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1871
progressed and residential districts extended further from the downtown area,
it became apparent to the library's directors that the Chicago Public Library
needed to make its services available to people nearer to their homes. In April
1884, the Chicago Library Board appointed a Special Committee on Delivery Stations.
Four stations, two on the West Side, one on the North Side, and one on the
South Side, were established. In June 1884, the Board agreed to pay Mr. Morris
Rosenstock $18.00 per week to manage the delivery of materials to the four
stations by horse-drawn carriage."
According to the Chicago Public Library,
"the library inaugurated a new Delivery Service, establishing delivery stations were established in businesses such as the Horder's New Depot in 1884. Pictured above are E.Y. and Ada Horder with their children Ivy and Harry. Library messengers were dispatched twice a day to pick up and deliver book orders left by patrons with the store's proprietors. At first, the storekeepers were paid a small fee for their work. It was soon found, however, that the delivery stations brought such large numbers of people into the stores, that the increase in business more than repaid the proprietors for the trouble of operating the service. By 1887, [when Lake View was a city in Illinois] Chicago's system delivery stations, now numbering eight, accounted for 127,000 volumes in circulation."
photo - Chicago Public Library
According to the Chicago Public Library,
"Before the full-service (stand-alone) library and delivery stations (library storefronts) their was the book-mobile.
The book-mobile was initially used in rural areas so to provided communities that would wanted access to free library materials and could not afford rent for storefronts or stand-alone buildings."
At this point of my research, I wonder if the Township/City of Lake View had mobile libraries, speaking of rural areas.
"Libraries were located in one central location in a city with branches in areas that could afford one. That changed after the Great Depression of 1929. The federal government provided funding for 'library out-reach' activities to communities that wanted access to publicly provided materials."
The photo below area of an unknown location in Chicago. The image provides an idea of what it may have been like before store-front libraries became more available
above photo - Chicago Public Library
below photo - Chicago Public Library
A Historical View:
The Lake View Township Library
(X marks the spot)
with Sulzer (Ravenswood) School on the right
with Ravenswood (Sulzer) School to the right
zoomed view below
A 1884 article
that highlights the opening
Historian Theodore Andreas Testimonial
"The Ravenswood-Lake View Historical Society's has just purchased a lot to
erect a library building and to raise money if necessary on their property. The
building will be on the southwest corner of Sulzer (Montrose) and Commercial
(Hermitage) streets and was expected to cost $1500; a two story brick building-30 x 50
ft. The ground floor will consist of the library [itself] and a reading room.
The second floor [space big enough] for a concert hall."
- from a publication called 'History of Cook County
Illinois'
subtitled 'History of Lake View' in 1884 located on page 712 when he mentions the Community of Ravenswood.
'The Ravenswood Historical Society [Association] erected a building known as Library Hall. Designed by Holabird and Roche, the building housed the first ‘public’ library in the community on the ground floor. A large hall used for meetings, concerts and dances filled the second floor. In 1894 the Ravenswood Masonic Lodge signed a 20-year lease and commissioned W. L Klewer to add a third floor to the building. The building, however, continued to be used for community meetings and programs of the historical society through World War I. By 1929, after the Masons had moved to their new building at Paulina and Wilson, Library Hall was vacant. Eventually it was torn down and a gas station was operated on the site. In 1894 the Ravenswood Masonic Lodge #777 signed a 20-year lease and commissioned W. L. Klewer to add a third floor to the building.'
Below is an 1894 article of a new owner
then a parking lot for a good many decades
2021 Google view
City of Chicago
Libraries
after the annexation of 1889
In the early 20th century local libraries, sometimes located in storefronts, were 'feeder' stations and served as satellites to the main city library is downtown, much like Harold Washington Library is today. Library materials would be loaned-out to be returned to the main library at a scheduled time period. The three main types at the time were branch, deposit stations, and delivery stations.
1994 photo - Chicago Public Library
The Branches
According to the Chicago Daily News almanac of 1922 the following locations served District Deposit stations (p. 868-9).
According to the Chicago Daily News almanac of 1922 the following locations served as District Branch libraries (p. 868).
The Butler House
3217-19 N Broadway Avenue
Hamlin Park
at Barry & Hoyne Avenues
The Deposit StationsLe Moyne School
at 3712 N Halsted Street
The Delivery Stations
According to the Chicago Daily News almanac of 1922 the following locations served as
District Delivery Stations
(p. 869) as well as branches and deposit stations
(p. 869) as well as branches and deposit stations
4336 N Hermitage
corner of School & Ashland
corner of School & Ashland
3212 N Broadway Avenue
2932 N Clark Street
2932 N Clark Street
3712 N Halsted
3711 N Southport
corner of Barry & Hoyne Avenues
3456 N Hoyne
text below - Lake View Saga 1847-1985
The Broadway Branch served the Lake View community
from 1925 through 1942
the former local library - 2019 Google photo
A Modern Full Service Library
in the Community of Lake View
According to Susan Reibman Groff, a contributor to my Facebook page, the building was used as a bomb shelter during WWII
This Lake View Branch of the Chicago Public Library system opened September 14, 1942 at its present location. Earlier, a storefront named the Broadway Branch existed
at 3119 North Broadway Avenue.
interior view in the 1950's
1952 marked the library's 10th anniversey
Library Staff
Esther Barlow Collection
1940's
the house to the right of the photo is now a parking lot
1950's
Merlo Branch Library was re-dedicated in 1988, after undergoing a major renovation. In June 1993, John M. Merlo Branch, formerly a Lake View Branch, was renamed in memory of John Merlo, who was a local community leader and long-time Chicago politician. The two-story building was designed by City Architect, Paul Gerhardt; sculptor Abbott Pattison designed the frieze above the front entrance. The branch houses artworks by Martyl, Louise Papageorge, and Michael Ryan, funded through the Percent for Art Ordinance administered by the City of Chicago Public Art Program. - Merlo
1946 view - Esther Barlow Collection
versus the glass canopy view below
The glass enclosed canopy to the frontage
was added during a 1988 renovation
photo - Lake View Patch
photo - Flickriver
This sculptures are once located under the window umbrella
This sculptures are once located under the window umbrella
within the entryway. It was created by Abbott Pattison.
Doing the Work in 1988
photo below - Michelle Schaps
The Renovation of 2019
According to 44th ward Alderman Tom Tunney's Facebook page in 2018 "investments will be made to the facility, and in library
programming, to provide a modern, state-of-the-art branch to the Lake View
community. Improvements will include an early learning play space for children,
a dedicated teen space, additional seating, additional meeting and study spaces
and refreshed collections. The Merlo Branch will also have digital skills
training available to patrons of any age through the Library’s Cyber-Navigator
program. The renovation work is expected to begin in early 2019."
Meeting on the Plans in 2018
Construction Photos
via 44th Chicago ward ofc
Re-Opens in 2020
via 44th Chicago ward ofc
Re-Opens in 2020
A Place
to Vote
Request for
Another Library
in 1963 Denied!
Public Library
photo - Sarah Bowlin
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Email me at lvhistorical@gmail.com