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Another good read: A new home for Steele Library

Jim Hare
Guest columnist

“The Steele Memorial Library hardly knew itself in a new home. But the books, which for so many years had stood side by side in the Steele Memorial building gave it a familiar air, and they, like the library staff, were happy in having room enough so they were not jostled about by their neighbors and had space for new friends,” observed Kate Deane Andrew, head librarian, to the Steele Memorial Library board of trustees on Feb. 16, 1924.

The second Steele Memorial Library had opened a year earlier on Feb. 8, 1923.  She went on to note that “the beautiful new Carnegie building, which is spacious and convenient, gives a feeling of freedom to all who enter.”

The Steele Memorial Public Library is seen in this undated photo at the corner of Church and Lake streets in Elmira.

The need for a “new” library building had been apparent for some time.

In the autumn of 1915, Henry D. Whitfield, of New York, stopped off in Elmira to spend the night with his Harvard classmate, Philip D. Sawyer, who was a trustee of the library with an office in the same building. Whitfield was interested in the “character” of the building and asked to see the library. Noting the “cramped” quarters on the fourth and fifth floor, he said, “Why don’t you get a Carnegie library? I will help you.” No small commitment, as his sister was Mrs. Andrew Carnegie.

This was not the first offer of a Carnegie Library to Elmira. It seems that at the time of the opening of the first library (1899), discussion of a Carnegie grant of $100,000 had been underway. In 1922, the Star-Gazette commented that “it is quite certain that the Elmira politicians who then decried and prevented a Carnegie Library when it was offered were sadly and grievously in the wrong. Elmira has long suffered from such politicians.”

One reason for turning aside the grant was the requirement that the city commit to an annual expenditure of 10 percent of the grant on maintenance of the library. Binghamton received a $75,000 grant in 1902.

Years later, Andrew offered another reason for a new library. She noted that “especially annoying to the patrons was the undependable elevator leading to the stacks. It consistently gave out, and people would come puffing up the stairs, red-faced from the unexpected exertion. I was in constant fear of apoplectic patients.”

Within a year of Whitfield’s visit, Elmira was poised to accept a Carnegie grant. On Jan. 29, 1916, it was reported that the Carnegie Corp., of New York, had “voted a fund of $70,000 to the City of Elmira with which to erect a Carnegie Library in the city.”

It was the greatest single gift to the city up to that time. The city would agree to provide an “approved” site and $7,000 a year for maintenance. The library trustees would mortgage their building for an amount ($25,000) sufficient to buy a new site. The library would relocate to the new building, and rental income from the old building would pay taxes, insurance, repairs and eventually pay off the mortgage.

But there were complications. When the YMCA and the Steele Memorial Library Association had agreed to build the first library, there was a stipulation that if the building ceased being a library, ownership reverted back to the YMCA, which had provided the land. This potentially “fatal” clause was eliminated when the Y agreed to “waive all of their rights under an existing agreement to any interest in the Steele Memorial Library.” In addition, the Elmira situation was unique in that the city was not asked to furnish the site; that was provided by the Steele Memorial Library Association.

Five sites were considered. The corner of Church and State streets was rejected by Whitfield. The southeast corner of Main and Gray streets was attractive because of the parks. The lot on the west side of Lake Street, just south of the Arnot Art Gallery, had appeal. Architect Whitfield thought the ideal place was two acres on the Arnot Homestead, at the northwest corner of Clinton Street and Park Place, because of its closeness to the college.

The site selected was the “palatial” Reynolds mansion on the southeast corner of Church and Lake streets. (Mrs. Reynolds was the daughter of Dr. Edwin Eldridge). The purchase price was $22,000, with the Library Association contributing $20,000 and the city $2,000. Editorial commentary read, “citizens who take a broad view of things regard the place as on the wrong side of the city. Such citizens also stop to reflect that some day, not far off, the city and county should own the entire block bounded by Market, Lake, Church and William Street to be used wholly for public buildings.”

A good read: The history of Steele Library in Elmira

With plans complete and a new library building to be erected “without delay,” the United States entered World War I.  All major construction projects were placed on hold, and Carnegie Corp. agreed to defer the grant.

When the war ended, a $70,000 building in 1916 cost $140,000 to $150,000 in 1920. In August 1920, Mayor George W. Peck led a delegation to New York City to see if the appropriation could be increased. Carnegie Corp. awarded an additional $40,000 (bringing the total to $110,000) provided the city make an additional appropriation of $40,000 to be spent before receiving the grant. The city was willing to agree, but a controversy erupted over control of the library board of trustees. Alderman Cornelius O’Dea argued, “If Elmira is to have a public library, then it should be a public library in every sense of the word.” The key phrase was “the establishment” of a public library, which placed it under New York state education law requiring control by the mayor and council.

Eventually, a compromise resulted in a 10-member board with five public members and five library association members who self-recruited.

On Monday, Aug. 22, 1921, with “appropriate ceremony,” the cornerstone was laid. John M. Connally, chairman of the building committee, stated, “let us hope that the cornerstone so carefully laid will not only be a cornerstone of a great library, but that it will also be the cornerstone for a better, a more cultured Elmira.”

Esther Steele in an undated photo.

Eventually, one question would remain. What will be the library’s name?

There was a general desire in the city to perpetuate the name of Esther Baker Steele; however' the city was “deeply grateful” to the Carnegie Corp. Andrew noted the library could be called by any name, “so long as appreciation of its gift is realized.”

Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.
https://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2016/01/08/another-good-read-new-home-steele-library/78498008/
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