Two
Helena Public Libraries of Yore
1892-1933 & 1933-1976
The 1892
Library and Auditorium
COLLECTION
OF KENNON BAIRD • CLICK ON IMAGE FOR A LARGER
VERSION IN A NEW WINDOW
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The Helena
Public Library and auditorium, located at 7th and Warren. It
operated from 1892 to 1933, when the stacks were moved to the
new library, the converted former Unitarian Church on the corner
of Park and Lawrence.
The 1892
buildings were heavily damaged by the 1935 earthquakes, and
were subsequently demolished.
The adjacent
1908 Seventh Avenue Gym, the red-roofed building seen in the
satellite image below, still survives.
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DETAIL
OF PREVIOUS PHOTO
Library
and Auditorium
LITHOGRAPH
BY WARD BROS., COLUMBUS OHIO - COLLECTION OF KENNON BAIRD
Site
of the 1892 Library & Auditorium
A Postcard
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A
Recent Street View of the Site
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Helena
Public Library, 1936-1976
COURTESY
OF TOM CORDINGLY AND THE GRANDSTREET THEATRE
| The 1901
Unitarian Church, 325 N. Park, was presented to the City of Helena
as a gift in 1933, for use as a library... |
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Because
the interior of the Unitarian Church was originally configured
as a proscenium theater, considerable renovation of the structure
was needed to convert it into a library. Stacks were moved from
the old building to the former church in November of 1933.
In 1976,
when the library moved to a new building at the south end of
Last Chance Gulch, the former church/library became the Grandstreet
Theatre, a purpose much more in keeping with its original
design. Thanks to Tom Cordingly and the Grandstreet for these
excellent photos!
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COURTESY
OF TOM CORDINGLY AND THE GRANDSTREET THEATRE
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