Established in 1896, the Waterloo Public Library began in two rented rooms, one on each side of the Cedar River. Controversy followed Andrew Carnegie’s $30,000 donation for a new library facility, as residents on each side of the river wanted the new facility. Carnegie learned of the feud, and increased his donation to $40,000, enough to allow separate libraries to be constructed. The separate libraries operated for seventy years before moving to a new single location in 1979. The pictured west side location has been well-maintained and is now home to a local law firm.