Allen County Public Library - Timeline

Timeline

1895 – Library opened in City Hall on January 28 with 3,606 volumes.
1898 – Library Board purchased the Brackenridge Home at Wayne Street and Webster Street for $14,000.
1904 – Carnegie-funded library building opened.
1923 – Service to county residents began. Fort Wayne Public Library became Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County.
1944 – Main Library expansion began with purchase of Hollywood Building on Washington Boulevard to house administrative offices.
1952 – Young Adult Department opened in basement of main library, the first such department in the country.
1968 – 173,500-square-foot (16,120 m2) building at Wayne and Webster Streets was dedicated August 21, 1968.
1977 – Construction of the new addition to the Main Library began.
1980 – Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County officially became Allen County Public Library by act of the state legislature on January 1.
1985 – Estimated 5,500 people ate 2,731 pizzas during system's 90th birthday celebration.
1997 – Library Board and staff began system-wide space needs analysis for all library facilities.
2001 – Allen County taxpayers approved bond financing of the $84 million library expansion project.
2007 – Renovation and expansion of main library nears completion. Grand opening held on January 27, 2007, with Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, among the speakers.