Wheaton Public Library is celebrating its first 100 years
Wheaton Public Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a tax-supported city public library this fall.
During the month of October, an exhibit focusing on the library's history will be featured in the Arts & Culture Center, including a comprehensive timeline and historical artifacts.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, Wheaton Public Library is hosting a "Cheers to 100 Years" celebration event from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the library.
Tickets for this 21-or-older event are $50.
Tickets include appetizers by Angeli's, wine and craft beer by Tasting deVine, and music by jazz ensemble Beyond Standard. All attendees will receive a special celebration gift.
Present and past residents are encouraged to share their favorite memory of the Wheaton Public Library via the library's website or social media accounts to be shared with the community.
The Wheaton Public Library is also hosting several 1920s and jazz-themed programs that are free and open to the public.
For more information and to purchase Cheers to 100 Years tickets, visit wheatonlibrary.org/cheers.
According to the library's "Cheers to 100 Years" website, the town's first library was created in 1891 by Wheaton resident John Quincy Adams in memory of his wife. A descendant of the Adams line that produced two presidents, he came to Chicago in 1851. He created an endowment fund for the library.
The building, now the DuPage County Historical Museum, was a free library for the town of about 3,000 residents. The library operated for 32 years with money received from the Adams Memorial Trust. But as the town grew, the need for library materials and services increased, along with the need for additional funding. In 1923, the City of Wheaton voted to levy a tax to operate the library, and Mayor Marion J. Pittsford appointed the first board of library directors.
The current library building was built in 1965, on a site a block east of the Adams Memorial Library. In 1979, the library building underwent a 40,000-square-foot addition.
In late 2004, there was a groundbreaking for an addition and renovation project. A three-story addition followed by renovation of the old library was completed in February 2007.