40 years ago: Old Carnegie library damaged by fire; arson suspected

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Nov. 22, 1973:

Lawrence city officials this week were still working on estimates for repair of damages caused by a fire at the old public library building at Ninth and Vermont. Fire Chief F. C. Sanders estimated the damage from the blaze, which had been called in at 2 a.m. on Nov. 20, at $8,000. Investigations were still in the preliminary stage, but Sanders said that there was “no doubt in my mind that it is arson.” There was no indication of an electrical problem, he said, and the arsonist could have entered through a basement window after breaking it with a rock. The city had recently received a proposal from a group that wanted to use the building as a community arts center, and officials today indicated no reason those plans would be changed. The fire chief said he suspected no connection between the library fire and a blaze a few days earlier at St. John’s Church, 1220 Vermont.