The Minneapolis Public Library, North Branch building is a library in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was designed in 1893 by architect Frederick Corser. When it was opened, it was claimed to be the nation's first branch library to have open shelves so patrons could browse for books on their own, without asking librarians to retrieve them. The library set a precedent for future library development in the Minneapolis Public Library system.
The building has a slender tower, a stepped front gable, and an arched entrance shaped like a basket handle, roughly fitting into the Chateauesque style. It includes terra cotta ornamentation and sculptured stonework. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and is the Twin Cities' oldest surviving public library building.
It was replaced in 1971 by the North Regional Community Library at 1315 Lowry Avenue North.
Famous quotes containing the words public, north and/or branch:
“D--n me, stranger, ef you can’t stay as long as you please, and I’ll give you plenty to eat and drink. Play away, stranger, you kin sleep on the dry spot tonight!”
—Administration in the State of Arka, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“That man’s the true Conservative
Who lops the mouldered branch away.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)