Henry Rosenberg, a Swiss immigrant who came to Galveston in 1843, became a dry goods commission merchant, banker, and investor in transportation enterprises. At his death in 1893, Rosenberg left substantial bequests for constructing buildings for seven charitable, religious, and civic institutions. His major bequest was for the construction and outfitting of the first purpose-built public library building in Texas, the Rosenberg Library. The trustees of Rosenberg's estate organized an invited architectural competition to choose a design, selecting an entry by St. Louis architects Eames and Young, a full-bodied rendition of Beaux-Arts classicism executed in buff brick with boldly scaled classical detail in terra-cotta. With a substantial addition by Galveston architect Price, the Rosenberg Library remains Galveston's preeminent cultural institution. In front of the library is a seated bronze figure of Henry Rosenberg of 1906 by Italian-born sculptor Louis Amateis of Washington, D.C.