Albertson Public Library
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The Albertson Public Library was the first public library in the greater Orlando, Florida area. Prompted by a large donation of books from Captain Charles Albertson, the doors to this library opened in 1923, and it was Orlando's public library for 41 years. Demolished in 1964, the library and the new building that replaced it were named the Orlando Public Library, even though it was commonly referred to as the 'New Albertson Public Library' through most of the construction process.
History
On November 10, 1921, Captain Charles Albertson, a retired New York police officer who had moved to Orlando, Florida, announced that he would donate his personal collection of 12,000 books to the city of Orlando if they would build a library to house them. The next day, the local paper announced his donation offer on the front page.[1]. Just days later, on November 26, 1921, the city and Captain Albertson signed an official agreement on the matter[2]. Nearly two years later, on November 8, 1923, the Albertson Library was opened to patrons[3]. Up to that point, the only library in town had been the Orlando Sorosis Club's library, which was open to members. They agreed to donate most of their collection to the city's new library. Additionally, the city of Orlando purchased 6,000 books for the library, bringing the total of books housed there to 21,000 volumes. The formal opening of the library was on November 22, 1923, and Captain Albertson was in attendance for the event[4].
Captain Albertson collected this library of books over a period of 40 years, and in all, the collection was valued at $75,000. The genre best represented in the collection was history and biographies[1]. The library also had a collection of steel engravings, including what was at the time the largest steel engraving in the world, a panorama of New York, painted by H.W. Hill and engraved by C. Mottram[5].
In November 1930, Olive Brumbaugh, the librarian for the Albertson Library, opened the first branch at the Grand Avenue school[6]. In July 1963, the Washington Shores branch opened[7].
In 1959, the Junior Chamber of Commerce asked a committee of three men (John Barber, Jack Peake, and S. Victor Tipton) to evaluate the building. The men found that the building had 13 problems, most of which centered around a lack of space. They noted that there was not enough space for employee offices, not enough seating room for patrons, and not enough shelf space for the materials. It was suggested that a new building be erected. The Albertson Library had 11,000 square feet, and the committee proposed that the new building be at least 56,250 square feet[8].
The Albertson Library was demolished in September 1964[9]. Ground broke for the new Albertson Public Library on October 19, 1964, and the new building was designed by the architect John Johansen[10], whose specialty was Brutalist design. The new building was 60,000 square feet[11]. Through most of the construction process, the new building was called the Albertson Public Library, but by the time it opened on August 8, 1966, the new building was named the Orlando Public Library. A plaque honoring Captain Albertson's donation was placed in the lobby[12], but the Albertson Library officially closed in September 1964, and the new Orlando Public Library was installed instead.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "11 Nov 1921, 1 - Orlando Evening Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. November 11, 1921. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ "Articles of Agreement" (PDF). orlandomemory.info. Oct 4, 1955. Retrieved April 17, 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "9 Nov 1923, 7 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ Brodwater, Mrs Thos. (November 6, 1923). "6 Nov 1923, 7 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ Ryan, C.W. (November 11, 1923). "11 Nov 1923, 5 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ "9 Nov 1930, 9 - Orlando Evening Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ "15 Jul 1963, Page 7 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ↑ https://orlandomemory.info/wp-content/uploads/documents/Need%20New%20Library.pdf
- ↑ Ray, Don (September 20, 1964). "20 Sep 1964, Page 1 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ↑ Rider, Don (October 19, 1964). "19 Oct 1964, 1 - Orlando Evening Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ↑ Heffelfinger, Dave (August 22, 1965). "22 Aug 1965, Page 28 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ↑ Lane, Elvis (August 7, 1966). "7 Aug 1966, Page 118 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
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