Building A Better Future Part II
Continued from Building A Better Future Part I
In addition to the $15,000 secured from Mr. Andrew Carnegie for the construction of a public library building, the City of Ottawa matched the donation with a site for construction and a commitment to devote 10% of the amount secured from Mr. Andrew Carnegie annually for maintenance.
Prominent Kansas architect, Civil War Union veteran, and Ottawa resident, George P. Washburn was selected to design the building. Some of Washburn's notable works include Washburn Towers, formerly Ottawa Junior / Senior High, and Franklin County Courthouse.
Washburn designed a neo-classical two-story yellow brick upon a limestone foundation sporting a two-story portico flanked by massive columns, capped with a hip roof and decorative ridge crest, and embellished with a rotunda or hemicycle on the East side.
Details found within the US National Register of Historic Places and October 28th, 1903 edition of The Ottawa Daily Republic.