The Milwaukee Public Library dates to 1878 when the State Legislature on Feb. 7 authorized the City to establish a public library. But the library can trace its lineage back further, to 1847 and the organization of the Young Men's Association, a subscription library which collected dues from its members. The group rented space for its library in a number of locations over the years and expanded into sponsoring a lecture series with such important speakers as Horace Mann, Horace Greeley and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
When it was established in 1878, the new public library took over the association's rented quarters and the group's collection of 10,000 volumes, many of them in German. After several moves and several fires, the library moved into a new, block-long limestone building at what is now 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. In 1898 it was known as Mozart's Grove, because it had been the site of summer concerts. A national competition was held to pick a design for a building to house both the public library and the public museum. Seventy-four entries were received, including an entry from Frank Lloyd Wright. The winning design was submitted by Ferry & Clas of Milwaukee. The winning design was for a building one block long and designed in a combination of French and Italian renaissance styles known as Neo-renaissance. The building was designed in a U-shape to provide a common entrance for the library and museum but to keep the facilities separate.
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