Tippecanoe

FEATURES

• Community Room, Study Room/Small Conference Room
• Express check-out with self-check stations
• 24/7 check-in with automated book drop
• Dedicated spaces and collections for Adults, Children and Teens
• Laptop kiosk for in-library laptop check-out
• Free WiFi
• Green landscaping, including: New trees and perennials, rain garden swales in parking lot and along south side of library, and permeable parking lot surface to reduce storm water runoff
• Curbside service is available. Please call the curbside pickup phone number on-site in the parking lot.

PARKING
Surface parking lot with entrance on E. Van Beck Ave.

HISTORY
The Milwaukee Public Library service in the Tippecanoe neighborhood dates back nearly 100 years to 1916 when this area was a part of the Town of Lake and the library was providing service to suburban communities. Exact locations of this early service are unclear, but several references have been found to a collection being housed in a school house, a room adjoining a private home and the offices of the Tippecanoe Building and Loan Association.

In 1931, after this portion of the Town of Lake was annexed to the City of Milwaukee, a branch of the Milwaukee Public Library was established in rented quarters at 3835 S. Howell Avenue. In 1960, the former Town of Lake firehouse/town hall at 3600 S. Howell was remodeled to accommodate the library and also retained garage space to park a bookmobile.

This building was demolished to make room for a new building on the same site. While this building was under construction, the library service was first provided by a bookmobile and then housed in the lobby of the Water Tower at 725 W. Howard Ave.

The new building at 3912 S. Howell was opened for service November 17, 1969 and served the community until January 30, 2015 when it closed for renovation. During the renovation temporary quarters were established across the street at 3933 S. Howell, in the banquet hall of the Copper Kitchen restaurant.

A community in the old Town of Lake was known as Tippecanoe, because the historic name appealed to retired Great Lakes Captain John Saveland.  The captain dug a deep artesian well and flooded a two-acre area in a twenty-acre park, creating Tippecanoe Lakes.  Later, the Tippecanoe Community Hall was constructed near the lake.  Milwaukee Public Library is pleased to carry this historic neighborhood name into the future.

THE GUIDO BRINK SCULPTURE
The library boasts a large metal sculpture created by artist Guido Brink, which highlighted the modern industrial and computer technique of the late 1960s. The sculpture represents Manitou, the Algonquian Great Spirit, as inspired by the Native American origins of the name Tippecanoe.

Guido Brink (1913-2003) settled in Milwaukee in 1953 following life and studies in Germany and Paris. He is known worldwide primarily for his metal sculptures, brightly colored abstract compositions of reds, yellows, dark blue and black, that decorate public and commercial buildings. Guido taught at the Layton School of Art from 1955-1974. He was instrumental in founding the Milwaukee School of Arts (now the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design), and served as its first president.

TIME CAPSULE
During construction, Tippecanoe Branch staff placed a time capsule filled with historical and everyday library items in the walls of the new library. The time capsule is registered with the International Time Capsule Society at Oglethorpe University.

SECRET GARDEN
In tribute to former City Librarian, Paula Kiely, through a generous gift from Barbara Stein, a “secret” garden embellishes the newly renovated branch. Inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 book “The Secret Garden,” it is an outdoor space for children and for the telling of stories.

Read about the history of the Tippecanoe Branch on the Now@MPL blog.