Our History

The first Park Ridge Public Library opened its doors on December 6, 1913. The original building, built with a $7,500 grant from the Carnegie Foundation still stands at 1 N. Northwest Hwy.
Originally the library was open 10 hours a week. Hours increased to 15 in 1923 and by 1932 the Library was open 61 hours per week.
The original building served as the City's library for 44 years until a new one was built across the street. The current library was built in 1958. An addition was added in 1977 that doubled the size of the building.
Today the Library is open seven days a week, a total of 70 hours, and averages more than 1,200 visitors per day.
In 2013 the Library celebrated its 100^th Anniversary with a yearlong celebration. As part of the celebration staff created a timeline of the Library’s history and installed the restored Post Office Mural on the second floor.
To learn more – click on Library History and Post Office Mural in the column to the left.

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