Htx Then and Now Day 2: Carnegie Library (now Julia Ideson Library)

Andrew Carnegie built over 2,800 libraries, including this Italian Renaissance structure completed in 1904 at Main and McKinney. Chartered by the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library Association, its roots rest in the Houston Lyceum, a members-only group that had migrated around town in one form or another since the 1830s. lts directive was not only book propagation, but also the hosting of weekly debates and lectures.

Led by head librarian Julia Ideson, the Carnegie Library soon outgrew its original structure and the new, Spanish Renaissance-style Houston Public Library was erected three blocks west in 1926. After her death, the building was named the Julia Ideson Building. The city soon outgrew this building, too. It now houses the Houston Metropolitan Research Center-a historical research facility preserving regional collections, archives, and manuscripts.