Lake Forest Library is a public library located 30 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. The Library was chartered on July 4, 1898, by Mayor Gorton and opened on the second floor of City Hall in 1899. The Library moved to its current location in 1931. Be sure to stop by to see our beautiful historic building, which was designed by architect Edwin H. Clark (who also designed Brookfield Zoo and Winnetka Village Hall). It was built as a Library and given as a gift to the City of Lake Forest by Mrs. Charles H. Schweppe and Mrs. Stanley Keith in memory of Mrs. Keith's first husband, Kersey Coates Reed.