page_title: Oregon Public Library
section_title: Eagle's Nest influence
hierarchical_section_title: Oregon Public Library / Art gallery / Eagle's Nest influence
caption_attribution_description: Oregon Public Library, Oregon, Illinois. National Register of Historic Places.
context_page_description: The Oregon Public Library is located in Oregon, Illinois, United States, the county seat of Ogle County. The building is a public library that was constructed in 1909. Prior to 1909, Oregon's library was housed in different buildings, none of which were designed to house a library. The library was built using a grant from wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The grant was obtained after Oregon's citizens voted to change Oregon's library from a city library to a township library. The building was completed by 1908 but the library did not begin operation until 1909.
  The Oregon Library was designed by Chicago architects Pond and Pond. The Ponds were members of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony, founded by Lorado Taft, and their association with Taft and the colony led them to design the library. Their design was influenced by the colony, and a combination of two architectural styles, Classical Revival and the Arts and Crafts movement. The completed library included a second floor art gallery to which members of Eagle's Nest donated works for a permanent collection.
context_section_description: Even before the library was built, members of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony were pushing for the new building to include a second-story art gallery. The colony, founded in 1898 by sculptor Lorado Taft, was based on the bluffs flanking the east bank of the Rock River, overlooking Oregon. Later in Carnegie's philanthropy his secretary James Bertram laid out strict requirements, including requirements which discouraged multiple uses for Carnegie libraries. Another requirement stipulated that Bertram approve library plans prior to grant approval or construction. The Oregon library, however, was constructed before Bertram's requirements were published and includes the gallery.
  The art colony at Eagle's Nest was populated by Chicago artists, all members of the Chicago Art Institute or the University of Chicago art department, who gathered in Ogle County to escape the summer heat of Chicago. Two of the charter members of the art colony were the Chicago architects, Allen and Irving Kane Pond, who designed the Oregon Public Library building. It was the Ponds' association with the Eagle's Nest Art Colony that led them to design the library.
  The building was constructed after the Carnegie grant approval, and its first use came in October 1908 by Leon A. Malkielski, a colony member, for an exhibition of 100 paintings. The library proper did not begin providing its services until 1909. The colony tried to contribute to area culture by requiring its members to hold art shows, lectures, and other exhibitions throughout the early 20th century. With the library complete it began to play a role in those exhibitions. Hamlin Garland, a 1921 Pulitzer Prize recipient for literature, spoke at the Oregon library while he was a member of the Eagle's Nest Colony.
caption: The art gallery on the library's second floor was built with influence from sculptor Lorado Taft.
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