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Roosevelt Branch Library
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| Location: | 4026 28th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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| Built: | 1927 |
| Architect: | Klarquist, S.M. and Son |
| Architectural style: | Tudor Revival |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 00000543[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | May 26, 2000 |
Roosevelt Community Library is one of 41 branch libraries in the Hennepin County Library System, originally part of the Minneapolis Public Library System as it is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2]
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The Roosevelt Community Library was originally built inside and named for Roosevelt High School (named after Theodore Roosevelt) in Minneapolis’s Standish neighborhood in 1922.[3] In this way, it not only served the high school students, but also the adults of the neighborhood. In the 1920s, Standish experienced a 50% population boom consisting mainly of Swedish Immigrants, so Roosevelt was available to them for language-learning and job-finding resources.[4] However, Roosevelt soon outgrew the high school as the neighborhood flourished, so in 1926 the Minneapolis Public Library purchased a package of land directly west of Roosevelt High School for $28,000. They hired Klarquist, S.M. and Son to design the new library building. The architectural firm did so, designing a brick and wood building in the Tudor Revival style. The building was modeled after the original East Lake Community Library, also a Minneapolis library, although Roosevelt had a small amount of front yard space where East Lake did not.[3] On 18 February 1927 Roosevelt opened to the community at 4026 28th Avenue South.[5]
Roosevelt was open five or six days a week for most of the 20th century. Depending on library funding, it was sometimes open on Saturday and other times closed then. Fluctuations in neighborhood population and the changing demographics of the community also contributed to library usage and open hours.[6] During World War II, librarians at Roosevelt held special story times for the children of the area, many of whom had mothers in the workforce and fathers fighting in the European or Pacific Theater. This helped the children take their minds off the war, and also helped curb rising juvenile delinquency rates in the Standish neighborhood. [3] Throughout the rest of the 20th century, Roosevelt’s hours and users remained steady. However, as a new century dawned, Roosevelt was obviously showing its age.
Roosevelt was small by 1999, as many of the other Minneapolis Public Libraries were 10,000 sq ft (930 m2). or greater. It also lacked a public meeting room and failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Voters chose to support the 2000 referendum which gave money to libraries for capital improvements. In a plan drafted July, 1999 called Outlook 2010, there are four options for Roosevelt.[7]
Option A had Roosevelt combining with the nearby Nokomis Community Library at an undecided location. The new building would be 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2). and both Roosevelt and Nokomis would close. This plan seems unlikely now, as Nokomis is scheduled for capital improvements (including an expansion) of its own.[8]
Option B included Roosevelt moving to a larger building by itself while keeping Nokomis at its current location or moving it separately. In this plan, the new building would be 10,000 sq ft (930 m2).
Option C called for major capital improvements to the original Roosevelt building, such as the addition of ramps to make it wheelchair accessible and the replacement of the furnace and water heater.
Option D proposed expanding Roosevelt by 5,000 sq ft (460 m2). along with complying it to the Americans with Disabilities Act and expanding the library’s collection greatly. To date, none of the Outlook 2010 plans have been instigated. However, on 26 May, 2000 Roosevelt was added to the National Register of Historic Places which meaning it could not be destroyed or greatly altered using federal aid without a public hearing.[1]
In the decade since these options were suggested, nothing has been done to the library. It continues to operate a few days a week, in the same small, historic building, not ADA-accessible, with obsolete heating & plumbing.
Due to funding cuts in the early 2000s, Roosevelt closed on all but three days per week. This continued until 2006 when funding cuts became even more drastic. On 29 December, 2006 Roosevelt and two other Minneapolis libraries closed amid outcry from patrons and neighbors.[9] During 2007, Minneapolis drew nearer to the merger with Hennepin, who promised to reopen Roosevelt when and if the merger was approved. It was, and on 3 January 2008 Roosevelt was partially reopened (only three days per week), now as part of the Hennepin County Library System.[10]
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