El Paso Public Libray

The El Paso Public Library’s history goes back to 1894 when Mary Stanton – a Georgia native who traveled west to join her lawyer brothers in El Paso – started a reading club for high school boys, moving her 600 books into a room in the Sheldon Building downtown. Mary Stanton’s dream became a source of civic pride with city support – including a 0.0037% set aside for values on city property. When Maud Durlin Sullivan – a Wisconsin native and graduate of Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute – succeeded her, she took the library to new heights. For over 35 years she made it one of the best in the nation, with over 2,000 volumes in Spanish and a Carnegie Art Reference Set including 1,400 prints and 127 art books. After touring Mexico City libraries in the 1920’s. http://visitelpaso.com/blog/91-the-el-paso-public-library-building

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: EPMH

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History