Fletcher Free Library (Burlington, Vermont)

 library, carnegie, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places

Established in 1873 with a grant from Mary L. Fletcher and her daughter, Miss Mary M. Fletcher, the Fletcher Free Library had, by 1901, outgrown its space in the old City Hall. That year, Andrew Carnegie made a gift of $50,000 to build a new library, which opened for business August 17, 1904.

By the early 1970s, structural damage resulting from poor quality material used to fill a railroad ravine under the building as prompting pressure to demolish it and rebuild. A committee prevented that from happening by circulating a petition to have the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1977, an E.D.A. grant of $234,000 made stabilization and external repair of the building possible. Further fundraising allowed for additional restoration work as well as a modern addition to the building.

The older (west) building is the Carnegie building, one of four such libraries in Vermont. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

235 College Street
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 863-3403
www.fletcherfree.org/