Trinidad, Colorado - A Historic Building Survey
Library Building
Map location #5.
The Trinidad Public Library at 202 North Animas Street stands almost unchanged since it was built in 1904. This structure is quite typical of Victorian architecture in the combining of a variety of styles in a single structure. For example, we see the capitals are Ionic, the base is Italian Renaissance, and the pediment is Roman. The style is one commonly used for libraries and public buildings at this time. (City Hall bears a close resemblance to the library indicating a conscious effort by the architect to match the qualities of the library.)
The stone of which the Library is built came from local quarries. At the time of construction there were three major quarries providing Trinidad sandstone in the area and many smaller ones. The large quarries were owned by James Radford, William Wienbroer, and T. D. Mitchell, father of Arthur Roy Mitchell.
The first photograph on the facing page shows the library shortly after it was completed; the second photograph shows it in July of 1970.
Figure 12 Library Building
