Digital Indy presents a brief look into the history of the Indianapolis Public Library and an in-depth history of the Eagle Branch Library.
As demographics changed drastically in Indianapolis during the 1940s and 1950s The Library began increasing its service area beyond the IPS district lines. Kicking off a new era in Library services, the Eagle Branch Library opened in a small shop in the Safeway Shopping Center (later renamed Eagledale Plaza) in 1960.
In 1960, after residents petitioned for a permanent library, a storefront branch opened at 30th Street and Lafayette Road, the first branch in the system to be located in a shopping center. A stand-alone facility at 3325 Lowry Road opened in 1970 with 12,000 square feet. On June 1, 2019 the Lowry Road facility was replaced by a new 20,000-square-foot building at 3905 Moller Road.
