1967 to 2006: 611 Bruhn Avenue Northeast
The new location in 1967: 611 Bruhn Avenue NE
In 1958, the Board received an estimate of $35,000 for an addition to the Carnegie building. A possible site for a new library in southeast Watertown was considered. The next year the Board approached the City Council regarding the use of the City Auditorium as a library. Remodeling the Carnegie library was not practical and the city auditorium would not be available, so the Board asked the City Council to authorize them to seek federal funds to build a new library. In order to qualify for federal funds, a regional bookmobile service for Hamlin and Codington Counties was started in 1966.
Controversy arose over the selection of a building site. The three sites in question were Flatiron Park (N Broadway), Olive Place (N Maple), and the northeast location between A and B Avenues, west of the high school. It was predicted that the city would grow toward the northeast, so the northeast site between A and B Avenue was chosen. Schull Construction Company was the contractor, and on July 1, 1968, the $345,267 regional library was dedicated by Circuit Court Judge R. F. Manson.
And that's where the library was from July 1967 to April 2006. As the years passed, the demand for library services again outgrew the Watertown Regional Library on Bruhn Avenue NE, and in 1997, events were set in motion to expand the library. Construction began on the expanded facility in 2006. During construction, the library was temporarily located at 15 First Street NW.
Material extracted from the Watertown Regional Library Archives, Codington County Heritage Museum Archives, and the Watertown Public Opinion Archives
Written by Jacquelyn Baxter, Summer 2007
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