Property Record
525 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | DARLINGTON CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY |
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| Other Name: | DARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 72906 |
| Location (Address): | 525 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Lafayette |
| City: | Darlington |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19992016 |
| Historic Use: | library |
| Architectural Style: | English Revival Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | CLAUDE AND STARK, ARCHITECTS, MADISON, WI |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Darlington Carnegie Free Library |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/2/2022 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 11/19/2021 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. LIBRARY HAS ORIGINAL PLANS. The Carnegie Free Library is a two story structure built on an elevated foundation at an orniginal cost of $10,265. It has a sloping roof that is intersected by a projecting gabled entrance. Constrasting white trim around the windows and door, along the roof line and foundation and a tudor arched, double entry with a transom window placed in a rectangular frame accents the red brick building. There has been some alteration to the rear. Rear roof has been constructed over the old roof, otherwise building is unaltered. This library building is architecturally significant because it is an example of early Carnegie Library architecture by Claude and Starck, noted for their library architecture. In addition, it is important to the architectural history of the community as the only library building since its existence. Construction for a new library began in March of 1999, and the original library building became the Lafaytte Co. Historical Society Headquarters. Original plans published in: Wisconsin Free Library Commission, "New Small Types of Library Buildings," pp. 28-31. J in the photo codes is short for JMD negatives. 2017- "The Library is located at 525 Main Street/STH 23 in the city of Darlington. It currently houses the Lafayette County Historical Society. The building is situated in the civic center of Darlington, which is made up of the four city blocks along Main Street between Cornelia Street and Harriet Street. Together they contain the Library (AHI No. 72906), Veterans Memorial Park (which consists of Veterans Park on the west side of STH 23, and Library Park on the east side of STH 23), Johnson Public Library, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (AHI No. 28691), the Lafayette County Courthouse (AHI No. 16243, listed in the National Register), and the Darlington High and Grade School (AHI No. 72909, now municipal offices). The Library, which is situated on the east side of Main Street between Cornelia Street and Catherine Street, faces west onto Main Street. It displays a deep setback typical of turn-of-the-twentieth century public libraries; the western half of the city block consists of the Library Park. The park, which is located along both sides of Main Street between Cornelia Street and Catherine Street, contains a thick grove of mature coniferous and deciduous trees, benches, lamp posts, and footpaths leading to the Library and other buildings. It is separated from the street on both sides by a concrete sidewalk and wide grass terrace. A grassy median featuring the Soldiers and Sailor Monument, a flagpole, vegetation, streetlights, and various signage runs down the center of Main Street along this stretch. Built in 1905, the Library was designed by the Madison firm Claude & Starck and construction was funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. 2 This one-story Tudor Revival building is clad in brick and rests on a raised limestone foundation with a stone water table. The entryway and window surrounds feature stone detailing with quoins, and fenestration throughout is grouped and displays prominent arches, wood mullions, and multi-pane glazing with leaded glass. The steeply pitched cross-gable roof is covered in asphalt shingles. It features stone parapets and two large masonry chimneys. The overall layout of the building, with a deep setback, raised basement, and central entrance, is typical of the property type of small town libraries in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, its ornamentation, including the steep parapeted roof, brick cladding, arches, and leaded glass windows with stone surrounds, represents character-defining features of an Elizabethan adaptation of the Tudor Revival style. The west (front) facade features a large, central entry vestibule below the cross gable. Stairs leading to the entrance are made of the same limestone blocks with stone caps that comprise the raised basement level on the remainder of the facade. The stairs frame an elaborate entryway that consists of a tall stone surround with a cornice, quoins, and Tudor-arch frame with inset details in the negative space above the arch. Replacement double doors with multi-light glazing are capped by two small, fixed, horizontal lights and, above them, an arched transom with diamond-pane leaded glass. A metal book return slot is mounted just north of the double doors. Above the entryway a carved stone panel reads "CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY." It is displayed in its own stone surround with carved stone torches on either side of the text. A hole in the brick just above this panel may have once held a flagpole. Above the sign, in the center of the gable, is a small inset stone panel. A modern light fixture hangs over this feature and metal medallions are situated on either side of the light. The roofline terminates in a parapet, which forms a prominent arch at the apex of the gable. Located on the north and south walls of the entry vestibule are narrow, arched, double-hung windows with diamond-pane top panels set in wood surrounds with stone sash, sill, and quoin detailing. Prominent fenestration on the facade consists of two groupings of three large windows, one on either side of the entry vestibule. Each grouping has lower fixed panels with replacement wooden storms and arched transoms with diamond-pane leaded glass. The three windows are separated by wood mullions and feature stone sashes, sills, and quoins. Additional windows are located in the raised basement level and consist of one-over-one, double-hung sash with wood surrounds. The south (side) elevation is divided into two sections: the western portion is situated below the parapeted gable and the eastern portion comprises the rear massing of the building. The roofline has been altered with a newer roof added to connect the front and rear segments of the building. Along this elevation, the front portion below the gable features a raised stone basement level with one-over-one, double-hung sash windows and parapet roof, similar to what is present on the facade. It also has a central chimney that protrudes slightly from the elevation. On either side of the chimney is a single, fixed, arched window set in a stone surround with quoins. The rear massing of the elevation has a replacement door that serves as a secondary entrance, as well as two infilled replacement windows on the basement level. A grouping of three, fixed, square windows display wood mullions and are set in stone surrounds with quoins. The north (side) elevation consists of the same front and rear segments as the south elevation. The front portion has a raised stone basement level and parapet roof; there is no chimney, so the gable features the same small recessed panel and arched cap that are on the facade. The two arch windows with stone surrounds below the gable stand next to one another. There are no windows along the basement level. The rear segment of the elevation features the same grouped windows that are present on the south elevation. Two of the windows on this elevation are mounted with air conditioning units. The east (rear) elevation features a parapet and recessed panel on the gable similar to what is present on the facade and north (side) elevation. An interior chimney does not protrude from the elevation aside from a small section that rises above the arch parapet. Fenestration consists of scattered one-over-one, double-hung sash along the basement level; one window opening is downsized and has a mounted air conditioning unit. On the upper level there are two groupings of three, fixed, square windows with wood mullions and stone sashes, sills, and quoins, as well as two fixed, square, windows with stone surrounds on the gable segment. Interior The interior of the building is currently open to the public and was accessed in April 2016. It includes an entrance vestibule, a semi-open first floor plan, and a multi-room basement. The entrance vestibule has terrazzo flooring and stairs that lead to the first floor of the library and the basement. Figures 2 and 3 present floorplans of the Library. The first floor is divided into five spaces: delivery room, children's room, reading room, reading and back room, and librarian's room. The delivery room is at the center front of the building and retains the historic layout, including the original wood seating on either side of the doorway, the coat closet, and a central loan desk; however, the desk has been replaced over the years. Currently the rooms are used to display the Lafayette County Historic Society's artifacts and all rooms retain their original, tall, wood bookcases, although plexi-glass has been attached to the front of some to protect historic artifacts. The original librarian's room, located at the southeast corner of the first floor, has been converted into a portion of the archives, and a non-historic, metal bookcase has been added to the room. The Library design was unique; often the children's room had the fireplace in order to make the room warm and inviting. However in the subject library it is located at the center of the rear wall. It retains its original brick firebox and simple wood mantel. The only changes to the space appear to be the addition of the modern carpeting and the installation of modern fluorescent lights. The basement is divided into five spaces: janitor's storage, lecture room, storage room, unpacking room, and boiler room. According to the historic plans, the largest room in the basement was to be used as a lecture room, with rows of fixed seating; however, several sources suggest this was never completed. The room is currently open with modern carpeting and a drop-ceiling. Most of the shelving is not historic. The second room, originally called out as the "unpacking room," but was converted into the common council room sometime in the 1920s. It is now used for housing the historical society's item collection. The boiler room is now used as storage for the historical society." -"Darlington Carnegie Free Library", WisDOT#5425-02-02, Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc., (2016). 2016 - The Free Public Library of Darlington, constructed in 1905, is a one-story, Gothic Revival building with a rectangular plan, brick walls with stone quoins, and a raised stone foundation. The side-gable roof is covered in asphalt shingles and features raised parapets at the gable ends. A prominent front gable marks the projecting bay of the main (west) entrance, which consists of double metal and multi-light replacement doors with ashlar stone surrounds. The elaborately detailed stone entrance frames a transom with an arched, leaded-glass, fixed sash window and features quoin detail flanking the doors. Windows on the main (west) elevation are arranged in groups of three and consist of wood, one-over-one, double-hung sash with fixed-sash arched transoms, all with stone surrounds. Quoin details ornament each of the window groupings on the front (west) facade. Other fenestration includes wood, one-over-one, double-hung sash at the basement level. The overall design and layout embody the designs propagated for small library buildings constructed through the Carnegie grant program (1). The interior retains many historic finishes, as well as character-defining features including the open floorplan, reading areas, and built-in shelving. The Free Public Library of Darlington was funded through a Carnegie Library grant, with construction beginning in 1904 and completed in 1905 (2). The City of Darlington received a Carnegie Library grant of $10,000 in 1904, with the stipulation that the city obtain a suitable site and set aside $1,000 annually for the libraries maintenance (3). This building is attributed to the Madison, Wisconsin, architectural firm of Claude and Starck (4). The Darlington Carnegie library served the community until a new library building was completed in 2000 (5). The building now houses the Lafayette County Historical Society. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. "Lafayette Co. Historical Society Newsletter," Dec. 1982, p. 3. Take a Walk on Main Street: Historic Walking Tours in Wisconsin's Main Street Communities, Wisconsin Main Street Program, 1998. B. December 1998 phone conversation with library employee. Monroe Times 2/25/1998. (1) National Register of Historic Places, Peabody Township Carnegie Library, Peabody, Marion County, Kansas. National Register #87000959. (2) History,” Johnson Public Library, http://www.johnsonpubliclibrary.com/History.html (3) Joan Rausch, “An Intensive Architectural and Historical Survey of Mining Communities in portions of Lafayette and Grant Counties, Wisconsin” (Platteville, Wis.: Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, 1983), p. 66. (4) “Louis W. Claude – Prairie School Builder of Carnegie Libraries,” Celsus: A Library Architecture Resource, https://libraryarchitecture.wikispaces.com/Louis+W.+Claude+-+Prairie+School+Builder+of+Carnegie+Libraries+(Buildings). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |