Walker Library

Story

Walker Library is public library in the East Isles neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located on Hennepin Avenue one block north of Lake Street, adjoining the Midtown Greenway.Walker and the 14 other libraries of Minneapolis Public Library were merged into the combined urban/suburban Hennepin County Library in 2008.Original 1911 buildingThe original building was built in 1911, when the Hennepin/Lake area was sparsely populated. T. B. Walker, the president of the library board at the time, donated some land for the site of the library. The opening of this library coincided with the opening of a streetcar line on Lake Street, and it helped fulfill head librarian Gratia Countryman's wishes to expand the library system and bring books closer to people. Local architect Jerome Paul Jackson designed the library in a Classical Revival design. The portico, with Ionic columns, shows Beaux-Arts characteristics.Thomas Barlow Walker was involved in many aspects of Minneapolis art and culture. He was a member of the Minneapolis Athenaeum, the first lending library in Minneapolis, established in 1859. He led the progressive wing of Athenaeum members in advocating for a Public Library, established in 1885 with the main library opening in 1889.