Caldwell Carnegie Library (Caldwell, Idaho)

In 1887 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union founded a private library in Caldwell,[3] and before 1909 the city operated a public library.[4] But in 1909 the Caldwell Commercial Club was actively promoting a new library, and Dr. W. C. Stalker, a Caldwell dentist, wrote to the Carnegie Foundation requesting a grant.[5]

In April, 1912, Caldwell received a grant of $12,500 under the direction of James Bertram, secretary to Andrew Carnegie and supervisor of the Carnegie library grant process.[6] By December, 1912, excavation for a new library was completed at the northeast corner of 11th Avenue and Cleveland Boulevard,[7] although a construction contract was not signed until October, 1913.[8]

Caldwell Carnegie Library opened May 2, 1914, with a ceremony that included an hour of orchestral music and selections by local composer Frederick F. Beale.[9] The library operated until 1976, when it became office space for Caldwell Public Schools.[10]

The building was remodeled in 1929 to include a portico and pediment covering the main entrance.[2]

In 2014 the city reacquired the building, and a lease agreement was reached with the Caldwell Veterans Council.[11] After an extensive renovation that included removal of the front portico added in 1929, the building reopened in 2017 under the name, Caldwell Veterans Memorial Hall.[12]

• List of Carnegie libraries in Idaho

Media related to Caldwell Carnegie Library at Wikimedia Commons

• Notes on the Erection of Library Bildings, James Bertram; printed in Small Library Buildings Since 1890, Thesis by John James McCarthy (University of Illinois, 1904), pp. 130–134. Notes reveals Bertram's practice of alternative spelling advocated by Melvil Dewey, Jennie Dorcas Fellows, and others.
• The Library Journal, April, 1915, pg. 225, discusses the emerging effect of James Bertram's Notes on the Erection of Library Bildings within a greater social context.