View source for Old Dallas Central Library

{{Infobox building
| name        = Old Dallas Central Library
| native_name =
| former_names         = Dallas Public Library
| alternate_names      =
| image                = DallasOldLibrary01.jpg
| alt                  = 
| caption              = Old Dallas Central Library in 2007
| map_type             =
| map_alt              =
| map_caption          =
| altitude             =
| building_type        = civic
| architectural_style  = [[Mid-Century modern]]
| structural_system    =
| cost                 = $2.5 million
| ren_cost             =
| location             =
| address              = 1954 Commerce Street<br />[[Dallas, Texas]]
| client               =
| owner                =
| current_tenants      =
| landlord             =
| coordinates          = {{Coord|32.780589|-96.794151|format=dms|display=inline,title|region:US_type:landmark}}
| start_date           = {{Start date|1954}}
| completion_date      = {{End date|1955}}
| inauguration_date    =
| renovation_date      =
| demolition_date      =
| destruction_date     =
| height               =
| diameter             =
| other_dimensions     =
| floor_count          = 4 above + 2 below
| floor_area           = 120,000 square feet
| main_contractor      =
| architect            = [[George Dahl]]
| architecture_firm    =
| structural_engineer  =
| services_engineer    =
| civil_engineer       =
| other_designers      =
| quantity_surveyor    =
| awards               =
| ren_architect        =
| ren_firm             =
| ren_str_engineer     =
| ren_serv_engineer    =
| ren_civ_engineer     =
| ren_oth_designers    =
| ren_qty_surveyor     =
| ren_awards           =
| references           =
|embedded              = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes
|name = Dallas Public Library
|nrhp_type = cp
|partof = Dallas Downtown Historic District
|partof_refnum = 04000894<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref>
|designated_nrhp_type = August 11, 2006
|nocat = yes
 | designated_other1_name = [[List of Dallas Landmarks|Dallas Landmark]] Historic District<br />[[Contributing Property]]
 | designated_other1_abbr = DLMKHD
 | designated_other1_color = #F5DEB3
 | designated_other1_date = February 28, 1990<ref name="Harwood">{{cite web|title=Ordinance No. 30812|url=http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/HP%20Documents/Districts%20Page/Harwood%20Ord%2030812%20Amendment%2003-27-18.pdf|author=Larry E. Casto|date=March 31, 2018|publisher=City of Dallas|access-date=August 4, 2018}}</ref>
 | designated_other1_number = [http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/landmark_districts.aspx H/48] ([[Harwood Historic District|Harwood HD]])
 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
}}
}}

The former '''Dallas Public Library''', now known as '''Old Dallas Central Library''', is a multi-level civic structure located at 1954 Commerce Street in  [[downtown Dallas|downtown]] [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] ([[United States|USA]]). It is located on the edge of the [[Farmers Market District, Dallas, Texas|Farmers Market District]] and adjacent to [[Main street garden park|Main Street Garden Park]]. It is a [[contributing property]] in the [[Dallas Downtown Historic District]] and the [[Harwood Historic District|Harwood Street Historic District]] and, along with the adjacent [[Dallas Statler Hilton]], represents the best block of [[Mid-Century modern|mid-twentieth-century architecture]] in Dallas.<ref name="preservationdallas.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.preservationdallas.org/new_site/issues/mostEndangered-08.php |title=2008 Dallas 11 Most Endangered |access-date=2010-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308220751/http://www.preservationdallas.org/new_site/issues/mostEndangered-08.php |archive-date=2010-03-08 }}</ref> It was part of [[Dallas Public Library]].

==History==
The Dallas Public Library was designed by noted architect [[George Dahl]] as the replacement for the 1901 Carnegie Library located on the same site. While Carnegie Library was being razed and the new library constructed, the [[Dallas Public Library]] moved their collections to [[Union Station (Dallas)|Union Station]] temporarily.

The library opened in September 1955 capable of holding 800,000 volumes but only containing 300,000 books.<ref>The Dallas Morning News, "Rites Dedicate Dallas Library", September 26, 1955</ref> It contained {{convert|120000|sqft|m2}} on 4 above ground levels and 2 below ground levels, with provisions for 2 additional floors in the future. The auditorium in the second basement seated 250 people and a terrace allowed for a rooftop garden.<ref>The Dallas Morning News, "Open House Set Sunday By New Public Library", September 22, 1955</ref>

The Dallas Public Library moved their collection to the larger [[J. Erik Jonsson Central Library]] upon completion of that building in 1982. The building was sold to an investment company which also owns the adjacent [[Dallas Statler Hilton]], but the building has remained vacant since the library's departure.

In December 2017 ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'' relocated its headquarters to the building after a lengthy redevelopment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://interactives.dallasnews.com/2017/the-move/|title=Smaller space, big ideas: Inside the modern new headquarters of The Dallas Morning News|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en}}</ref> The newspaper's increased focus on creating digital content and relocation of the printing presses from the former Young Street headquarters were cited as reasons for the transfer.

===Controversial artwork===
From the beginning, the new library building's artwork caused controversy. [[Harry Bertoia]] was commissioned to design a metal screen to hang above the circulation desk. When his $8,500 abstract "Textured Screen" was unveiled in 1955, Dallas Mayor [[R.L. Thornton]] called it “a bunch of junk painted up,” and a “cheap welding job.”<ref>http://nostalgicglass.org/background.php?pn=19 The Nostalgic Glass</ref> Outrage over the sculpture grew so much that architect George Dahl purchased the artwork himself and moved it to his private home, where it remained until wealthy and embarrassed citizens donated money for the sculpture. It was reinstalled in time for the library's opening, and now resides inside the [[J. Erik Jonsson Central Library]].

The façade of the library contained an 880-pound, {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} high aluminum sculpture by [[Marshall Fredericks]] entitled "Youth in the Hands of God." Symbolizing "the hands of God supporting youth reaching for learning through the medium of literature," the $12,000 relief sculpture depicted two hands lifting a boy wearing blue jeans. The library planned to take the sculpture with them to the new building, but it remained on the empty building for several years. In 1993 the sculpture was sold and now resides at the [[Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum]] at [[Saginaw Valley State University]].<ref>http://www.svsu.edu/mfsm/categorical-list.html#figurative Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum</ref><ref>Sherry Jacobson. "Ex-city sculpture sold to gallery - Art that adorned old library is moving to Michigan exhibit sculpture." The Dallas Morning News 7 April 1993, HOME FINAL, NEWS: 34A. NewsBank. Web. 15 January 2010.</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Statler-Hilton-Block-Panora.jpg|Dallas Public Library and [[Dallas Statler Hilton]] block
Image:Old Dallas Central Library Exterior.jpg|"Youth in the Hands of God" once hung on the metal hooks against the black granite façade
Image:Old Dallas Central Library Interior.jpg|Interior ground level reading room
Image:DallasPublicLibrary01.jpg|Back of building along Jackson Street
Image:DallasPublicLibrary Textured Screen.jpg|[[Harry Bertoia|Harry Bertoia's]] "Textured Screen"
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Texas]]
*[[List of Dallas Landmarks]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Old Dallas Central Library}}
*[http://nostalgicglass.org/background.php?pn=19 Historical Narrative]
*[https://omeka.svsu.edu/items/show/3945 "Youth in the Hands of God" sculpture]

{{Downtown Dallas}}
{{NRHP in Texas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Libraries in Dallas]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in Texas]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1955]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1955]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Historic district contributing properties in Texas]]