POINT PLEASANT BEACH — On Tuesday evening, the Point Pleasant Beach Historical Preservation Commission presented a plaque to the Point Pleasant Beach Library Association, which owns the landmark “Little Red Library,” in honor of the building’s stalwart presence in the borough for over a century.
The building at 710 McLean Ave., built in 1896, currently contains the Point Pleasant Beach Branch of the Ocean County Library. Library Association President Anna McNamara told The Ocean Star that the Library Association is proud of the recognition, as it provides proof of the care that goes into maintaining the building.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “We’re very honored to have received the plaque. The library is one of the oldest buildings in town and we pride ourselves on taking good care of it, and we do that with the help and support of the community.”
However, though the building has always housed a library in some form, it was not always part of the association that today operates the county’s library system.
A press release from the Historic Preservation Commission gave history and background on the building, beginning with the hatching of the idea of a library in the borough by two local women in the late 19th century.
“In the early 1890s, Phoebe Curtis and Emily D. Wood saw a need for a library in Point Pleasant Beach,” the release said. “These two women and a group of friends established a library, which opened in July 1894. The library was located in a series of vacant stores until 1897. Mrs. Wood donated $500 and Mrs. Curtis gave a piece of land on McLean Avenue.”
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