Willard Library is a Victorian Gothic public library on First Avenue in downtown Evansville, built in 1885 and the oldest public library building in Indiana still operating in its original structure. The building was a private gift from Willard Carpenter, a local businessman, who endowed it specifically to serve the citizens of Evansville. The exterior is a striking exercise in Victorian institutional Gothic — polychrome brickwork, pointed arches, and decorative ironwork — in a city not known for architectural extravagance.
The interior has been carefully maintained while serving its original function as a working research library. The special collections include local history materials and a genealogical research centre that draws researchers from across the tristate area. The library is well worth a visit for anyone interested in either Victorian architecture or the quieter pleasures of an independent library that has been serving the same community for well over a century. The ghost webcams, operating around the clock, have given the library a mild celebrity that sits oddly with its serious scholarly function.