Neighborhoods Served
- Kenwood
- Hyde Park
History
- The first branch of the Chicago Public Library, Blackstone Branch opened in 1904 and was renovated in 1980.
- It’s named for Timothy Beach Blackstone, president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and the first president of the Union Stockyards and Transit Company.
- Blackstone Branch is modeled after the Erechtheion, a temple on the Athenian Acropolis. Its architect, Solon S. Beman, was a leading architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Artwork
- Artwork by Chicago artist Oliver Dennett Grover, located in the rotunda, features the themes of literature, science, labor and art.
- Other notable architectural details include an upper-level glass floor, stained-glass ceilings, carved marble, mosaic tile floors and mahogany wainscoting.
