History
Pyle and his wife, Jerry, had this house built in 1940 after years of roving the country as a columnist for Scripps-Howard Newspapers. Pyle was born in Indiana, but chose Albuquerque for a home after visiting many times and developing, in Pyle's words, "a deep, unreasoning affection" for New Mexico.
Pyle's dispatches from military theaters overseas, which focused on the war through the experiences of front-line infantry soldiers, were read avidly by millions during World War II. He was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished war correspondence in 1945. Some of his columns mentioned the "little white house and picket fence" back in Albuquerque.
Pyle died from a sniper's bullet on the island of Ie Shima. Jerry Pyle died later in 1945. The City of Albuquerque acquired the house from the Pyle estate in 1948, and converted it into its first branch library.
Today, the Ernie Pyle Library houses a small collection of adult and children's books, as well as Pyle memorabilia and archives. Although the house is an active branch library, its appearance as a home was carefully preserved. Both the interior room configuration and the landscaping, even the picket fence built by Pyle and the grave marker of his dog, Cheetah, have been preserved. It is visited by thousands of people every year from throughout the world.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 22, 1997, and designated a National Historic Landmark on September 20, 2006.
Read more about this topic: Ernie Pyle House/Library
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