Excelsior Library in Guthrie is saved
GUTHRIE — Two significant events have prevented the demolition of a Guthrie building that was the home of an African-American library during the segregated 1950s.
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office announced the former Excelsior Library is one of two new National Register of Historic Places listings in Oklahoma. The other is the Lincoln Plaza Historic District in Oklahoma City.
The former Excelsior Library at 323 S Second St. opened in 1955 with 5,000 books after voters narrowly approved a $50,000 bond issue.
The 4,078-squarefoot building is actually the second home of the Excelsior Library. The first was created at a house at that site in 1908 and is believed to be the first African-American library in Oklahoma.
At that time, black residents could not use the city’s other library. Evelyn Nephew, a former Guthrie mayor and former member of the Guthrie City Council, thinks the Excelsior was the first such library in the Southwest.
Also playing a role in saving the old library site was the passage Feb. 9 of a three-quarter-cent Guthrie sale tax. Officials are hoping to raise $19 million over the next 15 years for a list of capital improvement projects. Restoration of the library building is one of the projects, but details haven’t been finalized, according to Guthrie City
Manager Bruce Johnson.
Questions remain
Johnson isn’t sure how much it will cost to rehabilitate the building. He also wasn’t sure who would use it once it was remodeled.
“The exact use for the facility is being discussed with several organizations, but no contract has been signed to date,” Johnson said.
The city will start collecting money on the new sales tax July 1.
Nephew does not expect the building to ready for use for several years. She said there is a marker outside the building now, pointing out its historical library use.
The Guthrie Community Arts Committee last used the building in 2014. Some did not think the structure was safe.
Two years ago, former City Manager Sereniah Breland said the building was worth probably $24,000 and would take $100,000 to renovate. She didn’t think the council would approve such an expenditure.
Nephew said, “Yes, they were gung-ho about tearing it down then.” She admitted the building wasn’t in good shape. “The city was supposed to have taken care of it, but they didn’t.”
Historic role
The Guthrie Negro Chamber of Commerce advocated passage of the bond issue to build the library, which would also be a meeting location for African-American groups.
The Excelsior Library continued to serve Guthrie’s black community until 1967, when the city’s Carnegie library was desegregated.
The Excelsior remained a branch library for a few years until a new bond issue was approved to build a bigger library in Guthrie. The former library was still a meeting site for black groups until it became the home of the police department.
Police moved to a new city hall location in the 1990s, and the Guthrie arts group used the location from 1998 to 2014.
Lynda Ozan, of the Oklahoma Historical Society, said the Excelsior’s nomination for the National Register of Historic Places was prepared by Amy Loch, director of the Logan County Historical Society.
The Excelsior’s strong ties to the black community made it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.