Albertson Public Library

OR00045.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Albertson Public Library

Alternative Title

Albertson Library

Subject

Orlando (Fla)
Buildings--Florida
Libraries--Florida
Library buildings--Florida

Description

The Albertson Public Library, located at 101 East Central Boulevard in Downtown Orlando, Florida. Before there was a public library in Orlando, the local Sorosis Club ran a circulating library for the city. After years of running the library out of homes and clubhouses, the Sorosis Club joined the Board of Education in an effort to organize an official public library.

In 1919, the Mayor of Orlando, E. G. Duckworth, secured the corner of Central Avenue and Rosalind Avenue as the site of the new library. A $73,983 contract was drafted and Murry S. King was hired as the architect. On December 28, 1922, the cornerstone was laid and, on November 8, 1923, the Albertson Public Library opened with 20,000 books, which included the Sorosis Club's collection, as well as 12,000 books from Captain Charles L. Albertson, a retire New York police inspector for whom the library was named.

Near the end of 1963, plans for a new library were being made. The Albertson Public Library, along with two branches, were to be demolished in order to make room for the new building. In the meantime, a temporary location at 905 North Orange Avenue was used as the library headquarters. On August 7, 1966, the Orlando Public Library opened. Although the name of the library changed, Charles L. Albertson is still commemorated in the new library for his generous donation with a plaque at the entrance of the building, and the genealogy and local history section of the library is named after him.

Less than ten years later, in 1974, officials began to consider expansion of the library. In 1978, the Orlando City Counsel allocated the block of land to the west of the building for expansion. Architect Duane Stark was given the expansion task, as well as renovating the existing building. The current 290,000 square foot building opened on April 6, 1986.

Source

Original black and white photograph: Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Orlando Public Library, Orlando, Florida.

Date Created

ca. 1923-1966

Is Format Of

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph.

Is Part Of

Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Orlando Public Library, Orlando, Florida.
Orlando Public Library Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection. RICHES of Central Florida.

Format

image/jpg

Extent

193 KB

Medium

1 black and white photograph

Type

Still Image

Coverage

Albertson Public Library, Downtown Orlando, Florida

Spatial Coverage

28.542476, -81.377149

Temporal Coverage

1923-11-08/1966-08-07

Accrual Method

Donation

Audience Education Level

Primary and Secondary Sources
American Society and Culture
Florida History
Primary and Secondary Sources
Cultural Features
Florida Geography
Location
Places and Regions
North American Cultures
Urbanization
Spatial Studies

Mediator

History Teacher
Geography Teacher

Rights Holder

Copyright to this resource is held by the Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Contributing Project

Curator

Williams, Rachel
Cepero, Laura

Digital Collection

Source Repository

External Reference

Bacon, Eve. Orlando: A Centennial History. Chuluota, Fla: Mickler House, 1975.
"Orlando's First Library." Orange County Library System. http://www.ocls.info/About/History/default.asp.
Rajtar, Steve. A Guide to Historic Orlando. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.

Citation

“Albertson Public Library,” RICHES, accessed November 4, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4092.

Locations

Categories