🏢 Hennepin County Library — Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hosmer Library

A 1916 Tudor Revival Carnegie library in the Powderhorn community's Central neighborhood, Hosmer Library pairs polygonal entrance towers with a modern seed library and STEAM programs.

📖 About Hosmer Library

Hosmer Library serves the Central neighborhood within Minneapolis's Powderhorn community from a distinctive Tudor Revival building that officially opened on March 8, 1916. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation and designed with polygonal towers flanking the main entrance, a crenellated parapet, and terra cotta trim, it was the tenth library built in Minneapolis and is one of only three surviving Carnegie branches in the city. The branch was renamed in 1926 for James Kendall Hosmer, the city's second librarian and a former president of the American Library Association. Originally serving a Scandinavian immigrant population, Hosmer added an African American reading room in 1969 as the neighborhood changed, and a major community-funded 1996 renovation dramatically increased its circulation and daily visitors. The building carries local historic designation from the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Today it offers a seed library, a zine collection, language collections, K-12 homework help tutoring, and STEAM Squad programming.

⭐ What makes this branch special

• Tudor Revival Carnegie library opened in 1916, with polygonal entrance towers, a crenellated parapet, and terra cotta trim
• Named in 1926 for James Kendall Hosmer, Minneapolis's second librarian and a former American Library Association president
• One of only three surviving Carnegie branches in Minneapolis; a Minneapolis landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places
• Modern offerings include a seed library, a zine collection, language collections, and STEAM Squad programs for youth

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