Crawford Fairbanks offered on February 2, 1903, to build and furnish a new library in Terre Haute in honor of his mother, Emeline Fairbanks. The city purchased the site at Seventh and Eagle Streets on May 5, 1903, and architects William H. Floyd and Charles E. Scott designed the building. Ground was broken on March 15, 1904, as the Modern Construction Company began work, and the cornerstone was laid on August 10, 1904 with officials lists, Fairbanks family photos, the day’s program, a 1904 City Directory, and newspapers inside, followed by a downtown parade, music, prayer, and orations. An informal opening and dedication took place on April 29, 1906, and after a legal dispute about ownership, the building formally opened to the public on August 11, 1906. In 1978, the library officially became part of the Indiana State Teachers College campus, and on January 22, 1984, Indiana State University held a formal reception for the newly renovated and renamed Fairbanks Hall. In January 2003, a project restored the twenty-eight-foot-diameter stained glass dome and the eclectic portrait collection of sixteen men and women, including authors, presidents and politicians, an artist, an inventor, and a composer.