Eatonton-Putnam County Library
About:
Excerpt from Unidentified Work:
The overall form of the Eatonton Carnegie library strongly resembles the Carnegie library in Boston, Georgia. Edward Choate designed both libraries; Eatonton in 1915. A $6000 Carnegie grant was the impetus. The library is small, containing a simple two by one room floor plan. The exterior materials are brick and decorative sandstone window surrounds. A basement level is divided from the primary wall surface by a sandstone belt course. The projecting, front-gabled portico includes two columns in antis that classify the library as a Neoclassical building. Choate's fenestration includes arched windows on primary and secondary facades and above the main portal in the tympanum. Although an eclectic building, the full-height entrance represents the most relevant architectural element.
Eatonton's grant process was unique for two reasons. First, a former Eatonton resident, W.K. Prudden, offered $5000 for the purchase of books for a new library. Second, Percival Sneed disagreed with Bertram on the library's design - an action that represented the increased involvement of a professional librarian. Bertram initially objected to a rear projecting block that contained the librarian's office or "room". Bertram deemed to office excessive and Sneed countered Bertram, challenging his opinion on Eatonton's proposed rear projections. The Eatonton library was ultimately constructed containing a single, central block, without a projecting block, in accordance with Carnegie's policies concerning the six "suggested" building types.
Today, the Eatonton library continues to function as a public library, within the Azalea Regional (formerly Uncle Remus Regional) Library System. The building's interior was restored as a part of a 1975 project that included design and construction of a sensitive addition by preservation architect Lane Greene of Atlanta. The new design incorporated a rear, main entrance that changed the original circulation pattern. The public does not enter through the historic entrance. Nevertheless, the addition is appropriate in its size, scale, and massing to the historic building, while not requiring the removal of large amounts of historic materials. The Eatonton library was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and is in excellent condition.