Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois)

The Cook Memorial Library, also known as the Ansel B. Cook House, is a historic house museum in Libertyville, Illinois, United States. It was built as a Victorian house for contractor and politician Ansel B. Cook in 1878. In his will Cook donated the home to be used as a public library, although it remained for many years the residence of Cook's longer-lived widow. After Emily Barrows Cook's death, the building received a major Neoclassical renovation that converted it into a library, opening to the public in 1921.[2]

Ansel B. Cook Home
Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois) is located in Illinois
Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois)
Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois) is located in the United States
Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois)
Location413 N. Milwaukee Ave.,
Libertyville, Illinois
Coordinates42°17′14″N 87°57′19″W / 42.28722°N 87.95528°W / 42.28722; -87.95528
Arealess than one acre
Built1921
ArchitectAnsel B. Cook
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.01000867[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 16, 2001

By the 1960s the library had outgrown the space available, and voters approved a referendum to construct a new library. The new facility of what is now the Cook Memorial Public Library District opened directly behind the Cook House in 1968.[3]

The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1] Today the Libertyville–Mundelein Historical Society operates the house as a Victorian house museum.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "The Ansel B. Cook House". Libertyville–Mundelein Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  3. ^ Pantle, Gabriella (February 2012). "Cook Memorial Library History" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-31. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[permanent dead link]
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