Gilpin Library, Interior, Historical Society, Chicago, Illinois

 

Uses for old Carnegie Library Buildings

This just in from the Beaufort (SC) District Collection Collections and the South Carolina Digital Library:

"Andrew Carnegie was a great builder of libraries between 1886 and 1916, including the former Beaufort Township Library, on the corner of Craven and Carteret Streets. Like many of the former Carnegie Library buildings, the Beaufort Township Library has been adapted for use. When the Beaufort County Library moved across Craven Street in 1964, the the City of Beaufort took over the building. Given that the City has new quarters at the head of Ribaut Road, what should be done with the Carnegie Library now? A number of ideas have been floated. A recent AL Direct electronic newsletter carried a short article about bed and breakfasts. I wonder if anyone has given thought to having another bed and breakfast in town?"

Great question, not only for the Carnegie Libraries, but also many other architecturally beautiful early 20th century libraries that have outlived their practical usefulness as libraries. If your community has adapted their out-of-date libraries to some innovative purpose, why not contact BDCC and let them know! gracec@bcgov.net OR ashorthouse@bcgov.net.

Library, Camden County Historical Society, NJ

"The Library of the Society houses some 9,000 volumes of history, with special emphasis on the history and genealogy of the Camden City and Camden County area. Visitors are permitted to use the collections of books, pamphlets, maps and manuscripts."

[LIB2375]

1911 Historical Library Building, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

"The 1883 Michigan Library, which came down during World War I to make way for the present General Library at Ann Arbor, had certain resemblances to the red brick Gothic Memorial Hall at Harvard, which Van Brunt designed. The great stone library at Cornell, with its separate tower, long the focus of alumni nostalgia "far above Cayuga's waters," was designed by a local architect named Miller and reflected the influence of the well-known American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who derived much of the inspiration for his style from early Romanesque. But when the time arrived for the erection of a library for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the influence of the much-admired architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago was in the ascendant, and the straight lines of the classic orders, with flat roofs, domes, and colonnades were the order of the day for every large public building then contemplated." [SOURCE]
[LIB1407]


Wisconsin State Historical Library Building. Memorial Volume, 1901. Exercises, Description, Accounts, Brief History etc.

Library, The Historical Society of York County, YORK PA

This chrome post card shows the museum and library located at 250 East Market Street. "Built in 1959, the building houses a museum, library, and meeting hall."

The Library offers one of the region's best genealogical research facilities. The many documents, books and photographs unlock the past for researchers.

[LIB01301]