File:Wayne County Democrat September 30, 1903 p3.jpg

Newspaper article

Date	1903/09/30
Organization name	Wayne County Public Library WCPL Board of Trustees
Industry Sector	Information > Libraries and Archives
Year	1903
Newspaper title	Wayne County Democrat
Page number	3
Article title	Public Library: A Most Beautiful and Artistic Building Contracted For

Wayne County Democrat September 30, 1903 Page 3, column 2

PUBLIC LIBRARY.

A Most Beautiful and Artistic Building Contracted For.

Last week, after advertising for the bids, the Board of Trustees of the Wooster Free Public Library awarded the contract for the erection of the library building to John H. King. of Galion, Ohio for $14,262.00, for which building, as has been before stated in these columns, Andrew Carnegie donated the sum of $15,000.

The building is to be erected on the Larwill lot on North Market street. The contract made with the contractor is that the erection of the building is to begin at once. The library will be constructed of a beautiful gray brick, resembling light granite in color, with terra cotta work, and an imposing front entrance with large porch columns and will be a two story structure with the exception of the stack room, the part in the rear, which will be one story.

The Grecian style of architecture will prevail both inside and outside of the building. The interior will contain a large vestibule next tot the entrance on north Market street and then next to the vestibule a large central ball, or delivery room, surrounded by large magnificent columns with reading rooms of dimensions of 32 feet by 21 feet on the north and south, with a stack room just in the rear. The whole interior will be open and subject to view from the librarian’s desk to all parts of building. In the north west corner will be a Reverence Room, 12 by 18 feet, and in the south west corner the librarian’s and trustees office.

The second story will be one large, room, used as a museum or assembly room or any purpose for which it is needed.

From the design of the building the Wooster Public Library will be the most beautiful and artistic building in the city of Wooster, an ornament to the city and a monument to the generosity of the donor.

The Board of Trustees have been holding several meetings in the office of A.D. Metz and have been proceeding with expedition and with and effort to make this building perfect in all tits details inside and out for the good of the public service.

Vernon Redding of Mansfield, Ohio, was selected as the architect. The Board of Trustees is composed of James Mullins, President; A.D. Metz, Vice President; Rev. H.D. Stauffer, Secretary: George J. Swartz. Treasurer; Frank W Miller, Capt. W.O. Beebe and Prof. Charles Haupert, who are all giving this public enterprise and important work their most careful care and attention, so that when the library is completed it will merit the entire approbation of all the citizens of Wooster.

• A note on the transcription.

Spelling, capitalization, words in italics, and punctuation have been preserved as in the original printed article.