The story of the Hale Memorial Library, Hamline Branch, begins in 1890 when Henry Hale, St. Paul attorney and property owner, wrote a clause into his will that left a bequest for the City of St. Paul to use funds from his estate to build a free library and a free medical dispensary. The funds were to become available 25 years after his death, but the financial panic of 1893 left the fund in trouble, as it was dependent on the value of the properties Hale owned. Mary Fletcher Hale, his wife, came to the rescue by tapping her own family inheritance to bolster the fund.

In the meantime the Hamline neighborhood continued to advocate for a permanent library building. The Saint Paul Public Library established “lending stations” (or “delivery stations”) in various neighborhoods around the city. In 1908 the first Hamline area station was formed and housed in a millinery (hat) shop at 720 Snelling Avenue North. The station moved six times before 1930, and the last location was at the corner of Snelling and Van Buren.

 In 1929, local architect Carl H. Buetow prepared three preliminary sketches for a new Hale Memorial Library, Hamline Branch building. He was working in the Education Department of the City Architect’s office, designing schools. His preliminary designs were in colored pencil on paper, and are now in the Carl H. Buetow Papers at the Northwest Architectural Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

The final, original drawings for the building contain his signature, and the design was altered to add more windows along with subtle features such as a carved stone torch & open book above the entrance, and carved stone rosettes and medallions along the facade on three sides. Construction on the new library building began in January, 1930 and the formal dedication was held on October 9, 1930.

One of the most interesting documents that turned up in a search for information about the neighborhood and library history was a booklet entitled “Hamline Community and Library Needs.” It’s not dated, (though it was likely completed around 1929), nor are any authors listed, though there is a final page containing Acknowledgements (see below in images) to various community supporters who were likely the primary writers of the booklet. Its paper cover is hand-lettered and the pages are typed carbon copies. The contents are remarkable for the depth of information provided. The booklet includes hand-drawn charts and maps of the area, and includes statistics on book circulation, book collections, comparisons between the four library buildings already standing (the Main Library Downton St. Paul fronting Rice Park, and the three Carnegie Libraries, all four having been completed in 1917.) It also contains in-depth analysis of the Hamline population, including countries of origin for immigrant residents, job categories, places of work, and a host of other data.

The study was prepared primarily to establish a solid case for the need of a library in the neighborhood. Though the lending station at Van Buren and Snelling had become a “branch” library, when the report was written it was still housed in a storefront, with inadequate lighting and space, and lacking room for a book collection of any useful size.

(Documents located in the SPPL Records at the Minnesota Historical Society)