Ralph Plumb, owner of the opera house, was a personal friend of Andrew Carnegie; when Carnegie began his library program, Plumb reached out to him to ask for a grant for Streator's library.

[1] Chicago architects Patton & Miller designed the library in the Classical Revival style.

Two-story columns flank the front entrance, which is topped by a pediment.

The interior of the building includes a two-story rotunda; the first floor of the rotunda is surrounded by columns, while the second floor features murals of William Shakespeare, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Socrates.

[2] Media related to Streator Public Library at Wikimedia Commons