Belleville Main Library covers

Research:

From Bella Steuernagel's 1936 history of the library:

After investigating various locations, the property of Otto and Hugo Heinemann, located at the corner of Washington and Jackson streets was selected. After many months of special meetings and conferences of the Board, the preliminary work was finished. The construction was begun on March 1. 1915. and on March 22, 1915, the cornerstone was laid without ceremonies, other than the presence of the Trustees. The work proceeded rapidly for a time, but soon a series of strikes and other annoying occurrences retarded the completion of the building, until January. 1916. The task of moving the books into the new building was done so systematically under the supervision of Mr. Wolleson. that it was not necessary to close the library even for a single day.

On January 20, 1916, the Library was dedicated with proper ceremonies; a splendidly attended program was presented in the afternoon and at night a public reception was held. This was no doubt the most important milestone in the history of the library. [1]