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Dedicated 21 August 1968
The campaign: Postwar growth outran the Carnegie building, and its construction had been poor — the centennial history quotes the finding that its concrete was badly made. Library Building Consultants, Inc. recommended razing the Carnegie building and building the new Main on the same site, designed for later expansion. L.I. Griffin received the contract to raze the Carnegie building in August 1965.
The exile: During construction the library worked from temporary quarters, including the Purdue Building at Jefferson and Barr streets, where the genealogy department spent 1967.
The building: The cornerstone was laid on 29 October 1967 — the Genealogical Society's photograph of the ceremony shows Head Librarian Fred Reynolds with Ralph Walb, president of the General Dredging Company. The new building, designed by Bradley and Bradley Architects (Carl Bradley), rose at Wayne and Webster streets with 173,500 square feet at a cost of 3,000,000 dollars, and was dedicated on 21 August 1968. Robert H. Vegeler was in charge of the move. The genealogy collection took space on the second floor.
Sources:
- Slater-Putt, Beyond Books (1995), ch. 2 — the consultants' recommendation, the razing contract, the Purdue Building quarters.
- Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana, libraries page — the cornerstone photograph and caption (29 October 1967), the August 1965 razing, the 173,500 square feet and the 21 August 1968 dedication.
- Allen County Public Library, Main Library profile — the 3,000,000-dollar cost; ACPL Facilities Master Plan, 2022 — Bradley and Bradley as original architect.