Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
Encyclopedia
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
located at 1710 W St Andrews in Midland
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, U.S.A. The library serves Midland County
Midland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 82,874 people, 31,769 households, and 22,683 families residing in the county. The population density was 159 people per square mile . There were 33,796 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...
, and is named after the wife of Herbert Henry Dow
Herbert Henry Dow
Herbert Henry Dow was a Canadian born, American chemical industrialist. He is a graduate of Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio. His most significant achievement was the founding of the Dow Chemical Company in 1897...
(founder of the Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
), Grace A. Dow
Grace A. Dow
Grace A. Dow was an American philanthropist who is best known as the wife of Herbert H. Dow, and mother of architect Alden B. Dow.- Personal :...
. The building is adjacent to both the Midland Center for the Arts and Dow Gardens
Dow Gardens
Dow Gardens is a botanical garden located at 1809 Eastman Avenue, Midland, Michigan, USA. It is open to the public, and currently contains over 1700 varieties of plants hardy in mid-Michigan. The main entrance has geographical coordinates of ....
. The library has geographical coordinates of 43.625747°N 84.248056°W.
The library traces its history back to 1899 as a private library with an annual subscription fee of one dollar. In 1915, it was placed under the control of the city of Midland. In 1953, the current building was completed in construction, and was renamed after Grace A. Dow who had recently died. Alden B. Dow
Alden B. Dow
Alden B. Dow was an American architect; he was the son of Herbert Henry Dow and Grace A. Dow. Dow is known for his prolific architectural design. His personal house in Midland, the Midland Center for the Arts, as well as the current building for the Grace A...
, the son of Grace and Herbert Dow, designed and dedicated the building.
The Friends of the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library is an organization that raises money for the library through book sales.
The building is also home to the studios and offices of Midland Community Television, the Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) cable tv channel for Midland, which cablecasts four stations (including MPS TV) on channels 3, 5, 15 and 17 on the local Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
cable system.
The library features a large children's section and a Teen Spot, a place specially for 6th thru 12th graders, and includes many young adult books, computers, comfortable seating and an island table.
The library also rents laptops out for use within the building and has free Wifi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
.