A Tichnor Brothers postcard of the public high school and library in Bangor around 1938. Both buildings opened in 1913 and replaced the previous high school and library that were destroyed in the 1911 fire. The high school was state-of-the art, containing laboratories, electric bells and a lecture hall that could seat 1000 students. The local and state communities were very supportive of the new library.

In response to the library losing the vast majority of its collection in the fire, books were donated from all over Maine during the reconstruction period. When the new library opened in 1914, it housed a collection of over 20,000 books.

The caption reads, "Bangor High School and Library, Bangor, Maine."