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Edwardsville - Glen Carbon, IL
Arts Visitors and residents alike will find the cultural heritage and the ongoing arts programs in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon to be rich and engaging. From walking tours of well-preserved historic districts and encyclopedic museums to highly contemporary theater and dance at and around Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the arts and culture in the Metro East area are a celebration of all the characteristics — both the traditional and the modern, the rural and the urban — of these outstanding communities.
Edwardsville and Glen Carbon support a variety of museums, historic districts and points of interest that are open to the public.
The Madison County Historical Museum & Archival Library, located at 715 N. Main Street in Edwardsville, is housed in the 1835 Federal-style Weir house, the second-oldest brick house in Edwardsville. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and has permanent exhibits depicting Madison County history, period-furnished rooms, and displays of antiques, quilts, historic costumes and Native American artifacts. The new history and genealogy research library is adjacent to the museum.
The Glen Carbon Museum, located in an old school building that was built in 1914, serves as a venue for historical artifacts and photographs of the Village of Glen Carbon.
The St. Louis Street Historic District, located just west of downtown Edwardsville, is the town’s most coveted neighborhood. Lined with mature, majestic hardwoods, St. Louis Street features exquisitely preserved homes from a
variety of architectural heritages, including Italianate, Queen Anne, Victorian and more.
Leclaire Village, Edwardsville’s other historic district, is the site of N.O. Nelson’s highly revered “company town.” This late-19th-century industrial village is registered as a National Historic District.
The Colonel Benjamin Stephenson House, which is undergoing extensive restorations in an effort to make it open to the public, is the oldest remaining brick structure in Madison County. This Federal-style home was built circa 1820 by the renowned lawman and politician.
The Yanda Log Cabin, located in Glen Carbon, was completely renovated in the late 1980s and features an accurate 19th-century coal-town living environment.
Other area historic points of interest include The Glen Carbon Covered Bridge and Old Town, The Weir House, The Wabash Hotel, and many others.
While the past is well-represented in these communities, the present is vibrating with the talent and dedication of local artists and their patrons. Several local programs exist to serve the children of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, in hopes of cultivating their creative sides. The Children’s Museum at Edwardsville presents experiential activities and interactive exhibits that allow parents and children to study and learn together. Similarly, Arts in the Park, a summer series of Saturday-morning art classes, gives local children, ages 6–12, access to extracurricular art instruction.
Theatre, dance and music are alive and well on community stages. Several local theatre groups, including the Arts League Players, the Eastside Theatre Group and the Edwardsville Summer Players, perform everything from traditional plays and musicals to original dramas scripted by local playwrights at variety of indoor and outdoor venues.
On the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville you can attend outstanding musical events and theatrical productions at the Dunham Hall Theater and Metcalf Experimental Theater. SIUE is an integral part of the arts in the area, and several theatre programs present live performances throughout the year. Summer Showbiz presents family theatre in June and July. The SIUE Department of Theatre and Dance Mainstage presents a variety of faculty-directed shows throughout the year.
Along with Edwardsville’s Municipal Band, SIUE is also instrumental in bringing quality live music to local residents. Of special renown at SIUE is the highly respected Suzuki String Program.
Several special events during the course of the year help spotlight arts and culture within the communities. For instance, ARTEAST Studio and Gallery Tours, held the third and fourth weekend of each October, showcase over 100 Madison County artists in a roving tour of exhibits and galleries. Chat with the artists and take home an original work of art. SIUE hosts art exhibitions in the new Wagner Gallery and the Morris University Center Gallery, located in University Center.
At SIUE, Arts and Issues is a series featuring distinguished speakers and exciting performances scheduled across the academic calendar that gives voice to a multicultural spectrum of perspectives. SIUE also hosts Celebrate the Arts Week, which showcases a broad sampling of music, theater and visual arts.
Edwardsville City Library
As a unique community resource, the Edwardsville Public Library supports informational, educational and recreational needs and interests. With convenient, creative, patron-friendly access to materials and services, the staff seeks to inform, inspire, enrich and amaze our growing community.
In 1819, just one year after Illinois became a state, the first lending library in Edwardsville was established. The history of the present library building and the Edwardsville Free Public Library as a municipally supported institution begins in 1903, when Andrew Carnegie furnished $12,000 to erect a library building. The site selected by the city was City Park, bordered by Kansas, Park, Buchanan and Vandalia streets.
The present library is more than
double the original library’s size and provides programs for all age groups, an automated catalog and Internet access.
Glen Carbon Centennial Library
The Glen Carbon Centennial Library, established by referendum in 1992, was originally located in the historic old school house on School Street. As the population of Glen Carbon grew, the library quickly ran out of space for holding programs and expanding the collection. In April 2002 a bond referendum was passed by village residents to build a new library. The new $2.6 million library opened its doors at its new location on Main Street at the entrance to Miner Park in October 2004. The facility covers 14,000 square feet and includes two study rooms, a conference room, a children’s program room, a teen area, computers, wireless access and a huge fireplace inviting patrons to sit and read or visit with friends.
The mission of the Glen Carbon Centennial Library is to provide all residents of the library community with reliable information that meets their needs and interests, as well as to provide materials for leisurely and recreational pursuits. The library seeks to identify with community needs, to provide services and to cooperate with organizations, agencies and institutions that enable the library to provide an efficient center for personal enrichment and self-education.
