Minneapolis Public Library - Historic Buildings

Historic Buildings

Many of the buildings built by the Minneapolis Public Library system are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In some cases, the libraries have been demolished and moved to new, more modern buildings.

• East Lake Community Library, original building at 2916 East Lake Street (since moved to 2727 East Lake Street). The building now houses a liberal political products store.
• Franklin Community Library, current building at 1314 West Franklin Ave.
• Linden Hills Branch Library, current building at 2900 W. 43rd St.
• Minneapolis Public Library, North Branch, original building at 1834 Emerson Ave. N. The North branch was closed not long after the much larger North Regional Library opened at 1315 Lowry Ave. N. about a mile away.
• Roosevelt Community Library, current building at 4026 28th Ave. S.
• Sumner Branch Library, current building at 611 Emerson Ave. N.
• Thirty-sixth Street Branch Library, current building at 347 E. 36th. St., since renamed to Hosmer Community Library
• Walker Branch Library, original building at 2901 Hennepin Ave. S. (since moved across the street to 2880 Hennepin Avenue) Some had suggested that the Walker library be moved back to its original building as it was vacant and the new underground facility has been dogged by maintenance issues; however the original library building is now occupied by a health club.

Of this list, all but the North Branch library were built under the leadership of the city's head librarian, Gratia Countryman. Franklin, Sumner, and Thirty-Sixth Street were built with funds from Andrew Carnegie.