Mark Twain Library of Detroit (1940-2011)

The successor to the previous Osius Branch, the Mark Twain Library opened in 1940 in the rapidly growing city of Detroit. By the 1980s, the Detroit Public Library system began to struggle financially, a reflection of the city's declining fortune as more would-be taxpayers moved beyond the city's limits. The result was that many public buildings like this one saw deferred maintenance. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a combination of extensive and expensive needed repairs and mismanagement led the library to be all but abandoned for more than a decade while residents were led to believe repairs would soon be funded. In 2009, when it was discovered that the library had come out of its alleged repairs worse than it had started, the building became a symbol of inefficiency and failure of city officials. In 2011, the building was torn down, having fallen into complete disrepair.

This piece of land was originally home to the George Osius branch library, which was a Carnegie Library built in 1914. The Osuis Library, named for a commissioner of the Detroit Public Library, served the area until the 1930s. When a project to widen Gratiot Avenue began due to traffic congestion, city officials decided to demolish Osius, widen the road, and then rebuild a newer branch on the same site. Osius closed in 1939 and the new branch, Mark Twain Library, opened the following year with over 20,000 books. The new building was designed in a modern architectural style that was common in the 1930s.

By the 1980s, the Detroit Public Library began to struggle financially, closing several branches around the city. It was clear by this point that the building needed maintenance and repairs, but there was not enough money to make it happen. Finally, in 1996, the library closed for much-needed renovations. When repairmen came to fix a leaking roof, they discovered that the extent of the building's problems was much worse than previously thought, finding significant structural problems and even asbestos in the walls. The library was closed indefinitely so these repairs could be made. Work stalled in 1999 when the Detroit Public Library system faced another financial crisis, but in 2000, they assured the public that work was still ongoing. In 2002, the newspaper reported that repair work was making progress, and in 2004 a "report card" assured residents that their tax money was helping revitalize the Mark Twain Library.

By 2009, it was clear to residents that they had been misled. There had been almost no repairs accomplished over the previous decade, and the library had fallen into disrepair. A leaky roof had turned into a ceiling filled with holes. Windows were broken, furniture was smashed and moldy, and the library had apparently been broken into. A shocking photo taken around this time revealed that the library's books had never even been removed and had spent years decaying on shelves or scattered all over the floor. Since it was clear no progress had been made on repairs, outraged Detroiters demanded to know where their bond money had gone, never receiving clear answers. The Mark Twain Library eventually turned from a beloved community staple into an infamous symbol of mismanagement, both in city government and the media. The disgraced building was deemed beyond repair and torn down in 2011 after the library system retrieved and sold whatever books could be salvaged.

Mark Twain Branch Library, Detroit Urbex. Accessed December 16th, 2022. http://www.detroiturbex.com/content/parksandrec/twain/index.html.

Kelley, Claire. The heartbreaking tale of the Detroit Public Library’s Mark Twain branch, Melville House. March 24th, 2014. Accessed December 16th, 2022. https://www.mhpbooks.com/the-heartbreaking-tale-of-the-detroit-public-librarys-mark-twain-branch/.