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Winona Public Library
Winona Public Library from the northeast
44°3′4″N 91°38′26″W / 44.05111°N 91.64056°W / 44.05111; -91.64056
Location	151 West Fifth Street, Winona, Minnesota, United States
Type	Public library
Established	1886
Architect(s)	Warren Powers Laird
Collection
Size	73,000
Other information
Public transit access	Winona Transit Service
Website	https://winona.lib.mn.us/
Winona Free Public Library
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	Less than one acre
Built	1899
Architect	Warren Powers Laird, Edgar Viguers Seeler
Architectural style	Neoclassical
NRHP reference No.	77000775
Added to NRHP	July 29, 1977

The Winona Public Library is the public library serving Winona, Minnesota, United States. It is a member of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, a Minnesota library region. Housed in an 1899 Neoclassical building, the Winona Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for having local significance in architecture and education. It is Minnesota's oldest library to continuously operate in a purpose-built facility.

History

Library services in Winona originated in 1857 when a local group formed the Winona Lyceum, a membership-based library funded by dues. The group changed its name to the Young Men's Library Association in 1863, and by 1870 had grown to 268 members and 1,670 books. However the library association had to close in 1875 due to debts. Two years later three local women cleared the debt and reorganized the library under a new name, the Winona Library Association. On March 22, 1886, the association donated its collection of 3,500 books to Winona, forming the city's first free public library.

In the late 1890s, local lumber magnate William H. Laird donated $50,000 to the city to cover construction costs of a permanent home for the library. The library association paid for the furniture, fixtures, and shelving. The domed Neoclassical building was designed by Warren Powers Laird, dean of the school of architecture of the University of Pennsylvania, and Edgar Viguers Seeler, a prominent Philadelphia architect. The original building measured 85 by 65 feet (26 by 20 m) with a 56-foot-high (17 m) dome and a three-story collection wing. The brick walls are faced with Indiana Limestone while the entrance steps, curbs, and walks are built from local Winona limestone. The columns at the historic Fifth Street entrance are Creole marble from Georgia.

The library's design specifically included space for public art, including a display gallery, murals, statuary, and glass art. Library features include glass floors in the book stacks and ornate copper-faced shelving and stairs. Artwork includes the Kenyon Cox mural The Light of Learning and a marble copy of Antonio Canova's sculpture Hebe.

Winona Public Library added a children's department in 1921 and by 1949 had begun collecting magazines and newspapers. A 1987 remodeling project moved the entrance from Fifth Street to Johnson Street for improved accessibility.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Winona County, Minnesota

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO)
3. "Winona Free Public Library". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
4. ^ "Winona Public Library: Past, Present, Future" (PDF). Winona Public Library. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
5. ^ "Our Historic Library". Winona Public Library. 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
6. Gernes, William D.; Charles W. Nelson (1976-12-03). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form: Winona Free Public Library". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-06-26.

External links

• Winona Public Library

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
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Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks Voyageurs National Park
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

• 1886 establishments in Minnesota
• Buildings and structures in Winona, Minnesota
• Education in Winona County, Minnesota
• Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
• Library buildings completed in 1899
• Limestone buildings in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places in Winona County, Minnesota
• Neoclassical architecture in Minnesota
• Southeastern Libraries Cooperating