The building that today houses the Fort Collins Museum was constructed in 1903, as a public library. Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie provided $12,000 in funds for the construction. Opened to the public on August 24,1904, the Carnegie Library boasted 3,900 books. Local quarries near today's Horsetooth Reservoir provided the native red sandstone of the building's facade. During the November 18, 1903, cornerstone ceremony, citizens sealed contemporary newspapers and other documents in a metal container and laid it in the stone as a time capsule of Fort Collins History.
During the late 1930s, WPA workers built an addition on the east side of the Carnegie building. This provided more space, including an auditorium. By 1975, the public library had outgrown the facility, and construction began on a new main building, located on the east side of Library Park. The now empty Carnegie Library became home to the Fort Collins Museum in 1977.
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