The Red Lodge City Library opened in the Savoy Hotel in 1914 thanks to the efforts of the Women’s Club of Red Lodge. The hotel, however, was just a temporary home. The Club soon took up the campaign to secure a permanent library facility. The city appropriated $1,000 toward the effort and agreed to apply to the Carnegie Foundation for assistance. The Foundation awarded Red Lodge $15,000. In return, the city promised to provide land upon which to build and annual maintenance. Before the issue could be put to public vote, World War I intervened. At the close of the war, the city successfully applied again. Billings architect Warren A. Dedrick drew the plans to conform to Carnegie standards, which included modest Classical detailing, meeting room space, open stacks and a central desk for the librarian. Construction began in 1919, and in March of 1920, the city library moved into its new quarters. The library, still in use today, is a tribute to the Carnegie Foundation and the determination of the Red Lodge Women’s Club.
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