Dayton Public Library   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: Caption on reverse reads: "The Dayton Public Library. Dayton, O. Montgomery County. See Card # 15 and # 15-C." Library service began in Dayton in 1805 with the Social Library Society of Dayton. The Dayton Library Association was established in 1847, which lasted until 1860, when it merged with the Public School Library, first organized in 1855. At the beginning, it occupied many different sites including: the old United Brethren building on the corner of Main and Fourth (4th) Streets; The Central High School building; the old city building and for a short time, improvised quarters in a building just north of the courthouse. The first building specifically for the Dayton Public Library, built in 1888, was located in Cooper Park, at the corner of Third (3rd) and Patterson, in downtown Dayton. The winning design was submitted by Messrs. Peters & Burns and the in the June of 1885, contracts for construction were let. The fireproof building was in the French Gothic or Romanesque style and built of Dayton limestone, with Marquette red sandstone trimmings. Fully completed and furnished it cost about $110,000. In 1956, the library officially changed its name to the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library. A new $2.3 million building was constructed for the Main Library in 1960, adjacent to the old building, opened March 26, 1962, and is still in use today (albeit with renovations done in 1987 and 1998-2000). The old building was demolished in 1962 after having transferred to the new building. The Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library name stayed on until June 19, 2002, when it officially changed its name to the Dayton Metro Library. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F13_005_1
Subjects: Public libraries--Ohio; Libraries--Ohio--Dayton--1880-1890; Dayton (Ohio). Public Library; Dayton & Montgomery County Public Library; Demolished buildings
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)