Enjoy this scroll through Beebe Library’s 100 year history.
100 Years of Beebe Library
Citizens are urged to “subscribe” to the proposed library site.
Townspeople purchase a lot at the corner of Main and Avon Streets for $16,000. Pictured here: the fundraising sign in front of the Hickok house,…Read More
In this photo, taken four days before the cornerstone was laid, construction has begun under the supervision of the James E. Nelson Company.
The cornerstone of the new building was laid on March 17, 1922. The architect was Ralph Adams Cram, of the firm Cram & Ferguson, arguably…Read More
A line forms in front of the finished building for the first public viewing of the new library on April 14, 1923.
Lucius Beebe Memorial Library was referred to in the Wakefield Daily Item as a new building “of which the citizens of Wakefield are justly proud…Read More
The original Children’s Room, now the Living Room, which currently houses the periodical, oversize, short story, and poetry collections.
A second branch library was opened in the Montrose school on the northeast side of town. Photo shows view of the Montrose Chapel located at…Read More
The busy Children’s Room circa 1950. One of the benches in this picture still lives in the library today, between the Reference and Circulation desks.
Attendance at movie theaters hit an all-time low in 1951 as people stayed home to watch television. At the urging of theater owners across the…Read More
The original Exhibition Room. This space became the Children’s Room in 1953, then was used for storage from 1969-1996 before becoming today’s Lecture Hall.
The library began planning for additional space in the 1960s, first proposed in this report believed to be from 1962.
In 1968, a contract was signed to build the addition to the library. (Daily Item, March 22, 1968).
Expanding the library’s footprint. The area in the foreground became what is now the Youth Room. (Daily Item, April 25, 1968).
New spaces in the library after the 1968 renovation was completed.
Both library branches were closed due to budget cuts resulting from Proposition 2 1/2. The Greenwood Branch, in a room at the Greenwood School, is…Read More
The library underwent a complete renovation beginning in 1997. Services were relocated to office space on Lake Quannapowitt, generously donated by The Savings Bank.
In partnership with the Wakefield-Lynnfield Chamber of Commerce, the library held its first Blossoms at the Beebe fundraiser, now a popular annual event.
The library began a year-long celebration on March 17, 2022.
