Walnut Park Branch of the St. Louis Public Library

Walnut Park is one of seventeen branches in the St. Louis Public Library system.

It is located at 5760 West Florissant Avenue at Gilmore Avenue in the Walnut Park East neighborhood. It is directly across from Calvary Cemetery.

It takes its name from the community it serves.

The Walnut Park branch dates back to 1917 when it opened as a sub-branch at 5553 Robin Avenue just around the way from its current location. The building was razed and is currently a vacant lot.

Here is a photo from 1920:

photo source: SLPL Then and Now

Then in November, 1928 the Walnut Park Branch relocated to 5778 West Florissant Avenue. Check out the difference in clothing from the people in the relatively well-to-do 1920's vs. the photo below from Depression Era 1931:

photo source: SLPL Then and Now

5778 West Florissant is still standing; here's a cropped image to match the photo above as well as a full view of the building.

The branch nearly moved to its third location in 1967 when a proposal was made to re-locate to 5240 West Florissant Avenue just east of Union Boulevard. 



The library proposal for a site change was published, but quickly met neighborhood opposition:

The source of neighborhood dissent was documented by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 30, 1967 indicating that there was no public hearing seeking feedback from the neighbors and the proposed location was too high a traffic area and too close to taverns, resulting in unsafe conditions for children and elderly walking to the branch. While the proposed branch was only 6/10 of a mile from the then current location, the alderman, church community and a small group of ~100 residents leveraged enough of an argument to make the Library Board reconsider it's move.

June 30, 1967 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article

In 1969 the Walnut Park branch settled at its current site at 5760 West Florissant Avenue. The site was selected with input from area residents and a standalone building was designed by architects Peckham-Guyton, Inc. and built by Pernikoff Construction.  It opened in October, 1972.

Here's a photo from 1978:

photo source: SLPL Then and Now

And an architectural rendering:

And here's what it looks like today, where an addition was added and the former entrance on West Florissant was moved to the current east-facing entry:

the different colors of brick mark the addition

The October, 1972 opening followed a “book brigade” where a human conveyor belt of over 100 volunteers moved ~16,000 books from the old to the new branch building...in the rain. This amazing event occurred on September 23, 1972 and was well documented in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. How can you not love that story?

 St. Louis Globe-Democrat photo by Bob Diaz, 1972

                    St. Louis Post-Disptach photo by James A. Rackwitz, 1972

          This goes down as my all-time favorite pic of my library adventure...

The exterior of the current location boasts wide sidewalks along West Florissant, allowing cuts for street trees.

West Florissant has a dedicated bike lane, and there is a rack on the street in front of the library, as well as a rack on the library property.

The entrance is on the east side of the building off of the parking lot. There was a display in the foyer related to Islam in St. Louis.

 The meeting room was setting up for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. seminar.

Entering the library from the foyer, you'll immediately notice this branch has a great open and bright feel. It is spic-n-span clean, the walls are adorned with colorful artwork from kids. There is a fish tank that adds to the relaxed vibe.

There is a sizeable children's area and a "teen lounge".

There is a small nook in the building right off the personal computer room that looks out to a small community garden maintained by volunteers from the Walnut Park Community Garden Club. The Walnut Park Community Garden Club received a $250 donation from the St. Louis Garden Club in September 2015, thanks to the generosity of St. Louis Garden Club President Ulrike Schlafly. The garden was established by a grant from the Missouri Department of Agriculture in 2012:

"Thanks to the vision of the Library’s Walnut Park Branch manager at the time (Rodney Freeman) —as well as the enthusiastic support of the Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture—the Branch became the first recipient of a $2,500 grant from the Department of Agriculture to support its community garden. The garden’s mission was and is to educate individuals on the health and economic benefits of growing organic food and to enhance community engagement." (source)

Apparently, the inner court was once highlighted by a low-relief sculpture which extended from inside the building through the outdoor court. This does not exist today, and I will add this to my list of "Mysteries at the Library" to investigate at the Central Library.

There are mosaic glazed-ceramic sculptures affixed to the outside wall of the court. The ceramic motifs were designed by William C. Severson of Scopia Studio.

Mysteries at the Library (Walnut Park Branch)

1. Are there any photos of the "low-relief sculpture" that once went from the inside to the outside courtyard?

Carpenter Branch of the St. Louis Public Library

Carpenter is one of seventeen branches in the St. Louis Public Library system.

It is located at 3309 South Grand Boulevard at McDonald Avenue in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood.

The library was named for George Oliver Carpenter, a successful president of a lead and oil company during St. Louis' age of industry. In 1925, while president of the St. Louis Public Library Board, Carpenter announced his plans to donate land for the branch. The Board unanimously resolved to name it in his honor. Carpenter lived in an Italianate-Mediterranean style mansion at 12 Portland Place.

The St. Louis Public Library "Check It Out" series has a wonderful summary of Carpenter's life and contributions to the library:

George Carpenter was born in 1852 to a prominent Boston family with ties reaching back to the Revolutionary War. 

Following a distinguished academic career, Carpenter headed west to pursue his livelihood with the St. Louis Lead & Oil Company. In the span of 20 years, he worked his way from entry clerk to company president. In 1891, St. Louis Lead & Oil merged with the Southern and Collier Lead & Oil Companies and the National Lead Company, with Carpenter at the helm of this early 20^th century industrial powerhouse. Like many of his contemporaries, Carpenter was deeply committed to making his community a better place. He was a key Library Board member and supporter, actually donating the land on South Grand Boulevard for what is now the Carpenter Branch. He also established two funds for the Library, both of which still exist and have supplied books for years. In fact, this year, 2014, one of the funds provided $22,000, and the Library spent every cent on additional e-books. (Actually, the tab came to $22,000.41, so our Executive Director threw in the 41 cents!). Mr. Carpenter specified the money go to “books the Librarian” determines “could not be purchased with the regular Book Fund.” The Librarian, who in this context is the Executive Director, chose to put the money into e-books that the Library couldn’t have afforded to purchase otherwise.

It’s remarkable to think that George O. Carpenter, who has been dead for 75 years, has provided St. Louis with a resource that he not only never knew but could never have even envisioned. Imagine what an industrialist of a century ago would have thought of downloading a book onto an electronic device! Yet in very real ways he made it possible. 

The efforts, commitment, and generosity of George Carpenter has improved the lives of thousands of St. Louisans for more than 100 years. His is truly a lasting legacy.

There is a painting and plaque of Carpenter in the computer room:

Carpenter is the last of the seven Carnegie libraries; in fact, it the last Carnegie library built in the United States, here's a photo from 1927.

 photo source, circa 1927: SLPL Then and Now

Upon its opening in February 1927, the crowds were so large that for ten days policemen were needed to handle all the people who wanted to see the building. Wilbur T. Trueblood of the W.T. Trueblood and Hugo K. Graf Architectural Firm designed the building (source). Some things never change, as this part of St. Louis is one of the most densely populated and diverse by all definitions, the place is always crowded. 

Per the library, Carpenters' visitation numbers are only surpassed by the Central Library with an average of 10,000 patrons coming and going each month.

The original Carpenter branch building was closed from November, 2000 until May 20, 2002, but library operations continued at a temporary site (3150 S. Grand, now a local restaurant "Rooster"). The renovation almost doubled Carpenter’s floor space to 25,000 square feet, and its collection more than doubled from 30,000 items in 1927 to 70,000 at the reopening. 

The building is a single story treasure. The original structures are toward the north nearest Utah Street, with the addition nearest McDonald Avenue.

original portion

 modern addition

There is a small parking lot off of McDonald Avenue and street parking on Grand. There are bike racks perfectly located near both the front and rear entrances.

The foyer from the rear entrance has a display case with revolving content.

There is a filigree theme that compliments the fonts used in the adult sections of the library.

The music, movies, computer and adult sections are formal. The quiet rooms are private and secluded...perfect.

The children's section is likely the real eye-catcher as it is extremely well designed, with whimsical art work and decor. There are two fireplaces flanking the kids/teen area, providing a cozy, homey kind of vibe. Aside from Central, it is probably my favorite kids library. These sections benefit from the large windows and classic design of the original part of the building.

the mirror above the fireplace is angled so little ones can peer up and see themselves

The meeting rooms are on the lower level and are available to the public.

Carpenter is one of five libraries that currently holds Sunday hours (along with Buder, Central, Julia Davis and Schlafly).