Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh--South Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Posted by: 
sherpes
N 40° 25.716 W 079° 58.452
17T E 587012 N 4475834
on the south side of city of Pittsburgh
Waymark Code: WM4R1T
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2008
Views: 18
One of the ten branch buildings within the city of Pittsburgh, its design and architecture follows a concept of book stacks open to the public and with the building managed by minimum staff personnel.
Built in 1909 in the Classical style. Although modest in scale, the Classical building has a clean, elegant look. Notice the parapet that rises above the entablature, the part of the building that is carried by the columns. The columns are actually called pilasters, because they are flattened columns that are really part of the wall. The pilaster is terminated by a stone capital, just like a column would be.
The two-story, red-brick building was designed in 1909 by Alden & Harlow, Pittsburgh's leading architectural firm at the time.
Some fun facts about the library history:
- The South Side branch was stocked with books in all sorts of foreign languages, since so many people in the community were immigrants.
- The South Side branch was the first home of the Helen Keller Book Clubs in the 1920s, which rewarded children for reading and giving oral reports. The Children's Room was specially designed with books, tables, and charts appropriate for children.
- During World War II the library was used as an air raid shelter. You can still see the air raid sign on the outside of the building.
- Teenagers used to hang out in the library in the evening. The library would close at 6:00 pm so the librarians could eat dinner, but then they would re-open the library at 7:00 pm so young adults could gather there.
Address of Library Building:
2205 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA USA
15203
Current Use of Building: library
Year Built (optional): 1909
Website about building: [Web Link]
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