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The Willard Library is a private donation library incorporated in 1881 to serve the City of Evansville and to carry out the terms of a private trust. Willard Library houses a trove of local archives and genealogical materials, in addition to its collection of standard publications. It is built in the Gothic Revival style and designed by James W. Reid (of Reid & Reid). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. == History == Willard Carpenter, Evansville's "pioneer of public charity," built and endowed Willard Library. He established a trust fund in 1876 about which he wrote: :"I have concluded . . . to establish and endow a public library, to be located in a public park, on land owned by me, situated in the city of Evansville. I am induced to do this in well-grounded hope that such an institution may become useful toward the improvement of the moral and intellectual culture of the inhabitants of Evansville . . . and also toward the enlargement and diffusion of a taste for the fine arts."〔History of Vanderburgh County. Madison, Wisconsin: Brant and Fuller, 1889, p. 322.〕 An agent for the Underground Railroad before the Civil War, Mr. Carpenter incorporated his concern for the rights of African Americans into his requirement that the library "be maintained for the free use of all persons who may desire to consult it." This definition of a "public" library was a daring social experiment in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The library was named "Willard Library" rather than "Carpenter Library" because, while living in Troy, New York, Carpenter became enamored with the Emma Willard School, a Troy female seminary founded by Emma Willard. He decided to found an educational institution and name it "Willard". Although initially conceived as a college, the idea was refocused to constructing a library. The library building was started in 1876 at First Avenue and Pennsylvania Streets in Carpenter's field, a place where circuses once pitched their tents. A depressed economy halted construction in 1877. The building's foundation lay for five years unfinished. The building was resumed in 1882 and Carpenter devoted the rest of his life to the supervision of the building. He worked with the architects, hired the workmen himself, and saw to it that only the best materials were used. Reid & Reid became the architects and are credited with the design of the superstructure. The formal opening was held March 28, 1885. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Willard Library」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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