Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library

Last updated

Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library
Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library.jpg
Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library, front view
Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library
Alternative namesSimmons Neighborhood Library
Etymology Gilbert Maurice Simmons
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeLibrary
Address711 59th Place
Town or city Kenosha, Wisconsin
CountryUnited States
Current tenantsKenosha Public Library
Construction started1899
Completed1900
OpeningJuly 1900
InauguratedMay 1900
Cost$150,000
OwnerCity of Kenosha
Height
Top floor3
Technical details
Floor count3
Floor area9,045 sqft
Lifts/elevators0
Design and construction
Architect(s) Daniel Burnham
Developer Ossian Cole Simonds
Other information
Parking14
Public transit access Metra : Kenosha station, line Union Pacific / North Line
Kenosha Area Transit , routes 2 and 4
Website
https://www.mykpl.info/simmons
Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library
USA Wisconsin location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location711 59th Pl., Kenosha, Wisconsin
Coordinates 42°34′50″N87°49′10″W / 42.58056°N 87.81944°W / 42.58056; -87.81944
Architectural style Classical Revival
Part of Library Park Historic District (ID88002657)
NRHP reference No. 74000093 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 17, 1974
Designated WHSLJanuary 1, 1989.
Exterior view of the Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library, July 2022 Kenosha July 2022 073 (Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library).jpg
Exterior view of the Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library, July 2022

The Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, and is a location of the Kenosha Public Library (KPL). KPL consists of 4 locations, an Outreach department, and is a member of both the Kenosha County Library System (KCLS) [2] and the SHARE Consortium. [3] The Simmons Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and was the first formal location for KPL. [4] [5] KPL was named the Power of Libraries Award Winner in 2018, [6] Wisconsin Library Association's 2020 Library of the Year, [7] [8] and a finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2021. [9]

Contents

History

The Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library was the first public building in the City Park district in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Upon its completion, City Park became known as Library Park. Daniel Burnham designed the Neoclassical library while Ossian Cole Simonds developed the landscaping plan. Former Kenosha mayor Zalmon G. Simmons donated $150,000 for the building's construction on the condition that it be named in honor for his deceased son. The city agreed, and the library opened to the public on May 30, 1900. [10] [11] As the city's first public library building, Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library greatly increased the volumes of literature available to the citizens of Kenosha. By the mid-1910s, the library had 124,368 volumes and sought to expand with a branch library. [12]

Library interior Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library interior.jpg
Library interior

The building was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1974. When the Library Park Historic District was created in 1988, the library was listed as a contributing property. [1]

There are rumors of the library being haunted by a female ghost and a legend of a secret tomb in the library. [13]

Governance

The Kenosha Public Library is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the Mayor of Kenosha and approved by the City Council. The board is composed of nine citizen members, eight City of Kenosha residents and one representative of the Kenosha Unified School District. [14]

Services

Collections

The Simmons Library's collection count is over 13,000 items, has access to over 275,000 items via the other Kenosha Public Library locations, and over 2 million items through the partnership with libraries in Racine County, Walworth County, and Rock County. [15]

Digital collections

Kenosha Public Library cardholders can digitally borrow books, music and movies since 2017 by creating an account on the online platform Hoopla. [16] The Library also offers audiobook, e-book, and eMagazine services, including OverDrive eBooks & eAudiobooks, TeachingBooks Library, Ebsco eBooks, and Online tutoring, delivered via the library's website. [17]

Technology

The Simmons Library technology services include public access computers and free wireless internet access throughout the library. The Library provides access to e-books, music, movies, and other electronic collections. The library provides access to a color printer & copier for a fee. Printing at the library uses a secure release station to help protect patron privacy, with a secondary printer located in the Children's Room. A fax machine is also available for public use, with a 3D printer available by request from the Southwest Library. [18] The library operates a Book Break telephone hotline during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reads stories to children. [19]

The library system uses RFID pads on all library materials where users only need to place the book on a table and check out occurs without scanning.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racine County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Racine County is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a part of the Wisconsin Territory. Racine County comprises the Racine metropolitan statistical area. This area is part of the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha combined statistical area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 792 square miles (2,050 km2), of which 333 square miles (860 km2) is land and 460 square miles (1,200 km2) (58%) is water. The county's unemployment rate was 5.6% in June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. The county shares the same name as its county seat, the city of Kenosha, the fourth largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha County is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, the fourth most-populous metropolitan area in North America. Kenosha County is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leelanau County, Michigan</span> County in Michigan, United States

Leelanau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,301. Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Township, one mile east of the unincorporated village of Lake Leelanau. Before 2008, Leelanau County's seat was Leland. Leelanau County is included in the Traverse City metropolitan area of Northern Michigan. The largest settlement in Leelanau County by population is Greilickville, itself a suburb of Traverse City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Kenosha is a city in and the seat of Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosha is a satellite city located roughly 40 miles (64 km) south of Milwaukee and 66 miles (106 km) north of Chicago and has significant cultural and economic connections to both cities. Interstate 94 runs along Kenosha's western border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racine, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 miles (100 km) north of Chicago. It is the principal city of the US Census Bureau's Racine metropolitan area. The Racine metropolitan area is, in turn, counted as part of the Milwaukee combined statistical area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 77,816, making it the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin. In January 2017, it was rated "the most affordable place to live in the world" by the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Dunes National Park</span> United States National Park in Indiana

Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.

The year 1900 in architecture involved some significant events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha Area Transit</span>

Kenosha Area Transit is a city-owned public transportation agency based in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha Light Station</span> Lighthouse

Kenosha Light Station is a lighthouse and keeper's house on Simmons Island north of the channel into Kenosha's harbor in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha North Pier Light</span> Lighthouse in Wisconsin, United States

The Kenosha North Pier Light, also known as the Kenosha North Pierhead Light, is a lighthouse located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. "A typical 'Lake Michigan red tower'", it is a sibling to the Milwaukee Pierhead Light. This light was built in 1906 as a replacement of the old Kenosha Light Station. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Kenosha, Wisconsin</span> Streetcar system

Streetcars were part of the public transit service in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the first third of the 20th century, and returned to this role in the year 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheridan Road</span> Road in Illinois and Wisconsin

Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest to Lake Michigan. From Chicago, it passes through Chicago's wealthy lakeside North Shore suburbs, and then Waukegan and Zion, until it reaches the Illinois-Wisconsin state line in Winthrop Harbor. In Wisconsin, the road leads north through Pleasant Prairie and Kenosha, until it ends on the south side of Racine, in Mount Pleasant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wisconsin–Madison</span> Public university in Madison, Wisconsin, US

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. UW–Madison became a land-grant institution in 1866. The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota, includes four National Historic Landmarks. The university also owns and operates the 1,200-acre (486 ha) University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus, which is also a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalmon G. Simmons</span> 19th century American businessman and politician (1828-1910)

Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. was a businessman, manufacturer, Wisconsin legislator, and mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford Community Church</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

The Bradford Community Church, originally the Henry M. Simmons Memorial Church and later the Boys and Girls Library, is a historic church built in 1907 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States under the leadership of Kenosha's first woman pastor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kemper Hall</span> United States historic place

Kemper Hall is placed on a Kenosha County park with 17.5 acres in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States. Kemper Hall overlooks Lake Michigan with a historic chapel, observatory, the Anderson Arts Center, and the Durkee Mansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library Park (Kenosha, Wisconsin)</span> United States historic place

Library Park, formerly known as The Commons, City Park, and Central Park, is a park in Kenosha, Wisconsin designed by Ossian Cole Simonds. It features a library and war memorial designed by Daniel Burnham and a sculpture by Charles Henry Niehaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library Park Historic District (Kenosha, Wisconsin)</span> Historic district in Wisconsin, United States

The Library Park Historic District is a historic neighborhood in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, surrounding Library Park, which was originally conceived as a New England–style town commons. The district consists of 42 contributing properties built from 1843 to 1930. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic Center Historic District (Kenosha, Wisconsin)</span> Historic district in Wisconsin, United States

The Civic Center Historic District is a group of six large Neoclassical Revival buildings around Civic Center Park in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, reflecting the city's history as Kenosha County seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin's 65th Assembly district</span> American legislative district for Kenosha, Wisconsin

The 65th Assembly District of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district comprises part of southeast Kenosha County, including the southern half of the city of Kenosha and the northern half of the village of Pleasant Prairie. The district also contains downtown Kenosha, Kenosha Harbor, and landmarks such as Civic Center Historic District and Library Park. The district is represented by Democrat Tod Ohnstad, since January 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Kenosha County Library System". mykcls.info. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  3. "SHARE Consortium". lakeshores.lib.wi.us. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  4. "Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library". Landmark Hunter.com. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  5. "Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library". Wisconsin Historic Society. January 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  6. "Power of Libraries". SirsiDynix. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  7. "Kenosha Public Library honored as Library of the Year". Kenosha News. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  8. "2020 Awards Announcements". Wisconsin Library Association. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  9. "KPL selected as finalist for National Medal for Museum and Library Science". Kenosha.com. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  10. "Library Park Historic District – Visitors' Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  11. Engel, Charlene Stant (July 1, 1974). "Simmons, Gilbert M., Memorial Library". NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. Retrieved June 30, 2018. With one photo.
  12. Public Libraries: A Monthly Review of Library Matters and Methods. Vol. 19. Chicago, Illinois: Library Bureau. 1914.
  13. Gaitan, Daniel dgaitan@kenoshanews.com (October 27, 2017). "Is Simmons Library haunted? Some think so". Kenosha News. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  14. "Board of Trustees". mykpl.info. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  15. "Member Libraries". lakeshores.lib.wi.us. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  16. "Hoopla! Download movies, comics, and more". mykpl.info. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  17. "Digital Resources" . Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  18. "(3D) Printing, Copying, Faxing, Scanning". mykpl.info/. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  19. "Fun for Kids at KPL". mykpl.info. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library at Wikimedia Commons