Melbourne Public Library
The library began in Mrs. Campbell's store called The Bazaar, on lower New Haven Avenue, in 1918.
It soon outgrew the store, moved to a building on the corner of New Haven Ave. and Vernon Place, then across the street to the display room of the Ford Motor Co.
In 1922, the books were moved to the office of Dr. I. K. Hicks, upstairs over the Ford Motor Co.
Outgrowing Hicks' office, the books were stored in a feed store on Melbourne Court for a time.
The first library building came into existence in 1924 on the corner of Palmetto and Waverly, where the parking lot of the Sun Bank is in 1989. Cost of construction: $2,500. There were 3,000 books.
In 1954 under the leadership of the Civic Improvement Board, a building was completed on this site, with subsequent enlargements made in 1959 and 1974. That building was razed in 1986 and the present library dedicated in September, 1989.
Marker is on East Fee Avenue 0.1 miles east of Hickory Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
