Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum - Rock Island, IL

The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is located at 700 22nd Street, Rock Island, Illinois. We have exhibits from the Karpeles family, who own the largest private collection of historical documents in the world with over 1,000,000 documents, plus books. The building was formerly a Christian Science church, designed by architect William C. Jones of Chicago in the Palladian style, it was built betw

een 1914-1915. Its exterior walls are of brick covered by Bedford limestone. Its superimposed front portico is supported by six 2 story columns with egg-and-dart capitals. Its dome actually consists of 2 domes: an outer dome and an inner dome which are separated by a space for lighting fixtures and maintenance. The inner dome consists of some 8,000 colored fish scale glass panes on a wooden support structure. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1998. The Library provides special educational programs and lectures for schools at all levels. In addition, Mini-Museums are maintained in many universities, secondary schools, grade schools, churches and libraries throughout the country. These are all free programs you can enjoy. Call or stop by to talk to someone! Our current exhibit is on Chinese History! There are many great documents in relation to China and America. Many exhibits teaching about their history, flag, dress, language and their culture as well. We are celebrating the Chinese New Year - 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit and we have bunny crafts to enjoy!