L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

Eau Claire's first public library was founded on December 28, 1859, when a group of men met at Dr. David H. Ketchum's house to form a library association. The library started as a display case in the Mahler and Putnam store on Eau Claire street, with Henry C. Putnam serving as librarian. Over the next 40+ years, the library moved to various existing buildings in downtown. Two small branches were opened in 1901 to alleviate crowding.

The first dedicated home for the library was a Neo-Classical structure built in 1904 at 217 S Farwell Street. Andrew Carnegie provided the funds to erect the public library. The building was planned by Chicago architects Patton and Miller, with the goal to serve over 16,000 people in Eau Claire.  This location housed the library until 1976 when the building was repurposed to accommodate the city’s offices at City Hall. 

The decision to rehome the city’s public library came after consideration of the library’s growing collections and concern that old wiring and wooden divisions throughout the building proved a hazard to the public and the collections. In 1974, the City Council approved funding for a new library, with groundbreaking at the new site at 400 Eau Claire Street taking place the following year. The Carnegie library closed its doors for the last time on October 28, 1976. Less than one month later, the L.E. Phillips Public Library opened down the street. In the days between, library workers moved the collections of books down the block to the new building using borrowed wooden boxes from Walter’s Brewery. A system of ramps helped facilitate this project as library staff worked to fill the library’s new home. 

In 2018, the library Board of Trustees announced a fundraising campaign to raise money for a $23 million dollar expansion to the L.E. Phillips building, with $11.5 million coming from the city. The target number for expansion was later revised down to $18 million with work scheduled to begin the spring of 2021. Once completed, the expansion will include a new third floor with a community gathering space and innovation lab. This project will also bring the library into compliance with ADA requirements, add space for youth programming, and create a drive-through window for pick up and drop off of materials.

• Current Building, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Accessed August 4th 2020. https://www.ecpubliclibrary.info/current-building/.
• Dowd, Andrew. "Industrial bond, library land purchase resolutions approved." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) June 27th 1974. 5A.
• The Early Years, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Accessed March 23rd 2021. https://www.ecpubliclibrary.info/the-early-years/.
• "Library launches study of fundraising." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) October 2nd 2018. , 6A.
• Lindquist, Eric. "EC library still seeking $3 million for expansion." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) December 18th 2020. , 3A-6A.
• National or State Registers Record: 217 S. Farwell St., Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed August 4th 2020. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR446.
• Property Record: 217 S Farwell St, Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed August 4th 2020. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI29231#:~:text=Following%20a%20%2440%2C000%20donation%20from,of%20the%20state's%20Carnegie%20libraries..