The long history of the Hilltop library began in 1911, when the Sunset Literary Club held a book drive for West Broad Elementary School. The group was successful in collecting around 300 books that were kept inside the school for a decade.

When a local man, Lawrence Holmes, died in 1921 he left his private book collection to the school, which was unable to store the expanded collection. So the collection was moved to the second floor of Citizens Trust & Savings Bank – a financial institution that operated on the Hilltop.

The first time the collection would move into a proper library facility was about seven years later, when the Holmes Library opened its doors Oct. 4, 1928 at 21 N. Hague Ave. where the present-day Walgreens sits across the street from West Broad Elementary School.

Holmes Library existed at this location for 22 years, until relocating once acquired by the Columbus Metropolitan Library system. When the library opened the new branch, it was the first of eight locations owned entirely by the system.

The new site was about five blocks north the National Road and cost $56,000 to construct when it opened March 14, 1950. The architect was Harry Roderick, a resident of Upper Arlington.

Interesting to note: when they laid the cornerstone on Sept. 20, 1949 a number of artifacts were preserved inside including copies of the Ohio State Journal, Columbus Dispatch and other newspapers like the Hilltop Record and a brief history of the Hilltop branch.

The location at 2955 W. Broad St. is now the home of VOICEcorps, formerly Central Ohio Reading Services, a medical reading service for those who are blind or visually impaired. The property is now valued at $118,673 after renovations in 1983 to fit its new purpose.

The Hilltop branches final relocation happened in 1996, when it was moved near the corner of Sullivant Avenue and Hague Avenue, located at 511 S. Hague Ave.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library hired architectural firm Schooley Caldwell Associates to design the building – who are renowned for projects like the Utah State Capitol, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus Museum of Art and the Lazarus Building.

Elements of its design included Victorian Gothic architecture and artifacts from the areas historical sites including the Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital.

Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and local history writer. He is the author of Images of America: West Columbus, which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.