Muskegon has many beautiful old historic buildings and one of my favorites is the Hackley Public Library. The Historical marker in fron of the magnificent stone building reads:
On May 25, 1888, Muskegon lumber baron Charles H. Hackley announced that he would donate a library to the city. Hackley stipulated that the facility be “forever maintained as a library.” Patton and Fisher of Chicago, one of the six firms invited to submit a plan for the library designed a Richardsonian Romanesque – style building. The library was constructed of Maine granite and trimmed with Marquette sandstone. The reading room windows depict Shakespeare, Goethe, Longfellow and Prescott.
Muskegon citizens celebrated the laying of the Hackley Public Library cornerstone on May 25, 1889, the anniversary of Charles Hackley’s donation of the library. It was the first annual celebration held in recognition of Hackley. The previous year the board of education had resolved that classes would be suspended annually on May 25 on Hackley’s honor. On October 15, 1890, the completed library was dedicated. The lot, building and furnishings amounted to a $175,000 gift.
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