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Library building
The Petoskey District Library includes the main library, which opened on November 22, 2004, and the original Carnegie Building, which opened in November of 1909.
The Library is one of the most important and ambitious public works this city has undertaken in decades. The new building sits elevated slightly above street level, emphasizing not only its prominent position in the urban architectural hierarchy but also its importance in the lives of the people of this community. Traditional materials on the exterior of the building, brick, stone, and concrete, give it a sense of permanence and solidity. The design is timeless, “Colonial Georgian with Mannerist tendencies” and one feels as if the building has perhaps been here all along, waiting to be discovered. – Jonathan Lee, Architect
One of the most striking architectural features of the building is the copper-topped cupola, its spire rising some 65 feet above street level. Each glazed facet of the cupola is framed by a pair of Corinthian columns, nearly eight feet high. Permitting light to penetrate the center of the building, also allows light to radiate outward, a powerful metaphor for the role of the library as a center for learning and the exchange of ideas. – Jonathan Lee, Architect
Six Corinthian columns, open books embedded in their Florentine Renaissance capitals, flank the stately entry.
Boldly patterned terrazzo floors in front of the circulation desk depict the rising sun, the light of learning, and the dawn of knowledge. – Jonathan Lee, Architect
A large brass compass rose, centered under the rotunda dome, serves both as a symbolic navigation tool for explorers, and to strengthen the interior axial relationships of the space. -Jonathan Lee, Architect
Drive-thru book return
For your convenience, the Library offers a drive-thru book return, located off the alley behind the library. Enter the one way alley off of Waukazoo St. We also provide outdoor book returns located at four township halls: Bear Creek, Little Traverse, Resort and Springvale.
Outdoor labyrinth
The Petoskey Community Labyrinth is located on the grounds of the library building. Thirty-five feet in diameter, it is of the Medieval, 11-circuit “Breamore” design. It was constructed by The Labyrinth Company of charcoal and red paver brick.
The meandering but purposeful path of the labyrinth is a metaphor for life. Unlike a maze, there is only one path in and out. There are no shortcuts, no dead ends, and the entire path must be followed to complete the journey. The labyrinth visually reminds us that we are walking a common path. Often circular in design, they represent wholeness and unity. Interest in the labyrinth as a
tool for relaxation, healing, building community, solving problems, and nurturing intuition, creativity, and artistic expression has increased significantly over the past several years. They can be found in hospitals, parks, schools, prisons, retreat centers, faith-based organizations, and private gardens.
One of Jim Miller-Melberg's play sculptures, this turtle was designed in 1960 and is still being manufactured today. It was donated to the Crooked Tree Arts Center by the Wausau Tile Company and is being displayed on the outdoor labyrinth.
The peace pole was added to the grounds in 2021 as a donation from The Back Lot's Beer for Books month-long fundraiser.
The Waukazoo Street end of the building is flanked by two Serviceberry trees. Among the other plantings on the grounds are Greenspire lindens, Nearly Wild roses, Green Velvet boxwood, and burning bushes.
Carnegie Building
The original Carnegie building, across Mitchell Street from the current library, opened in November of 1909. It was closed with the move to the new building for renovation and reopened in September 2005, as community meeting room space.
Bruce Catton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and author who was born in Petoskey in 1899, is memorialized with this plaque created by another renowned Petoskey resident, Stanley Kellogg. It is located on the grounds of the Carnegie building at 451 East Mitchell Street.