Page 45 - Galveston Waves August 2018

A plot of land at the northwest
corner of Tremont and Sealy was
purchased for $18,500 on May 15,
1901, on which to erect the build-
ing. The Board of Directors em-
ployed Alfred F. Rosenheim of St.
Louis as consulting architect in a
competition for the design of the
building amongst Ackerman &
Ross of New York, Eames & Young of St. Louis, Thomas H. Kimball
of Omaha, and local Galveston architects. Two local architects, George MOLLIE ROSENBERG OUTSIDE ROSENBERG FREE SCHOOL. MOL-
B. Stowe and Conlon & Koeppe, were awarded prizes of $250 each for THE ROSENBERG HOME circa 1895 LIE ROSENBERG, circa 1888
their designs, but the award for the work was ultimately given to
Eames & Young for a “fire-proof building with two stories and base-
ment, to cost $100,000, the building to contain rooms for the usual
library departments with a capacity of 60,000 volumes, and also to con-
tain a lecture hall to seat 500 or more people.” The construction of the
building was contracted to Harry Devlin of Galveston, at a final cost of
$155,000.
ROSENBERG LIBRARY AND
Rosenberg Library officially NEIGHBORING HOUSES, circa 1905 ROSENBERG LIBRARY
GALVESTON, circa 1906
opened for inspection June 22,
1904, Henry Rosenberg’s birthday,
and to the public the following day.
A year later it absorbed the collec-
tions of the Galveston Public Li-
brary, thus formalizing its new role
as the public library for the city of
Galveston.
ROSENBERG LIBRARY, ROSENBERG LIBRARY,
The Galveston and Texas History Center, for example, collects materi- GALVESTON, TEXAS, circa 1910 GALVESTON, TEXAS, circa 1915
als relating to Galveston and early Texas. Major manuscript collections
include the papers of Samuel May Williams, Gail Borden, John Grant
Tod, Jr., and James Morgan; the records of several nineteenth and early
twentieth century businesses, including those of Harris Kempner, Hen-
ry M. Trueheart, and J. C. League; the records of several organizations
and churches in the area; and twentieth-century collections reflecting
recent events and activities in Galveston and the upper Gulf Coast.
BOOKS DRYING AFTER SNOW OUTSIDE THE ROSENBERG
On September 13, 2008, the Ros- HURRICANE CARLA, circa 1961 LIBRARY, circa 1973
enberg Library was inundated with
flood waters during Hurricane Ike,
the most destructive hurricane to
hit the island since the Great
Storm of 1900. Fortunately, the
building did not sustain any struc-
tural damage, as an extensive repair
project on the exterior had just
been completed in July of that year
for which it received a Galveston Historical Foundation Sally B. Wal-
lace Preservation Award.

Immediately following the hurricane, the library underwent various
renovations to its operational systems that had been vulnerable to
flood damage. This was followed by new, more energy efficient, interi- 2310 Sealy Street |Galveston, TX 77550 | P: (409) 763-8854
or lighting and some needed flooring on the third and fourth floors of
the Moody Wing. In the summer of 2010, two years after the storm, www.rosenberg-library.org
further restoration of the building’s interior was undertaken to return Above text regarding the library history was taken from “ROSENBERG LIBRARY” –
the Rosenberg Wing to its original style and beauty. The Handbook of Texas Online

Waves Magazine | August 2018 Issue | 45