St. Petersburg's first permanent public library

In 1908, the St. Petersburg City Council and concerned citizens began a pursuit to secure funding for a public library. This effort resulted in a $17,500 grant from the Carnegie Corporation in 1913. The grant was matched by the city, and a site on the banks of the city Reservoir - now Mirror Lake - was chosen on July 17, 1914.

The Mirror Lake Community Library opened in 1915 as a Beaux-Arts style building. It features sculptural decoration along conservative modern lines, bold sculptural supporting consoles, rich deep cornices, swags, and sculptural enrichments. The building's architect, Henry D. Whitfield, worked for the Carnegie Corporation and designed this library along with many other Carnegie libraries in this style.

The library is significant to the city's history as the first permanent home of the public library system. It embodied the transformation of the city in the second decade of the twentieth century from a pioneer village to a city with viable cultural institutions. It was built to house 16,000 volumes.

Located on 5th Street North, the building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It served as the city's only library until the current Main library was built in 1964.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons