Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois)

Ansel B. Cook Home
Location 413 N. Milwakee Ave., Libertyville, Illinois
Coordinates 42°17′14″N 87°57′19″W / 42.28722°N 87.95528°W / 42.28722; -87.95528Coordinates: 42°17′14″N 87°57′19″W / 42.28722°N 87.95528°W / 42.28722; -87.95528
Area less than one acre
Built 1921
Architect Cook, Ansel B.
Architectural style Classical Revival
NRHP reference # 01000867[1]
Added to NRHP August 16, 2001

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]

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

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "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.
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