The Carnegie Library building in Green River is the focus of a $12,000 grant to pay for a structural study on the building and we’re hoping it reveals a way to save the building.
We agree with Brie Blasi, director of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, when she calls the building one of the most historically important structures in Green River.
The building is important to Green River as it’s one of two structures that established Green River as a viable, permanent town. It, along with the U.P. Depot gave people a reason to invest in the community, establishing businesses and planning roots in Green River. The building is also important to state history as well, being designed by William Dubois, a prolific Wyoming architect who designed more than 70 commercial buildings in Cheyenne, as well as several schools, churches and three other Carnegie Libraries.
For Green River residents, the building is an important landmark as well. Some remember it as the city’s library, a purpose it served since its dedication in 1907 to 1980, when the current Sweetwater County Library was built.
Others remember it as the Green River Circuit Court’s home, which moved in after the library moved out and stayed there until the court was moved to a circuit court addition built onto the Sweetwater County Courthouse.
Problems with the building have known about for a long time, but the county’s response of ignoring those issues and letting the building sit unoccupied and in disrepair have only worsened the building’s library.
If the review says the building can be saved, it should be. The city and county should partner together to renovate the building. While an exact use is still unknown, there is a lot of potential for the building. If the city eventually takes it over, it can be used to house the Green River Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency. It could be used to expand the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s available space as well. Even if those uses are not compatible with the building, it should still be saved.
Letting the building continue to decay until the only solution is to tear it down would be a tragic end for such an iconic building. Potential demolition would be a major loss to the city, as well as a major failure for the county as it did not act when it could.
Hopefully, there’s still time to ensure the building stands to see another century.
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