Carnegie Event Center, Newport, Kentucky - Carnegie Library Buildings on Waymarking.com

Several attempts to form a library in Newport, Kentucky were made in the late 1800s. Early libraries in Newport involved the payment of a subscription fee. A Library Board was formally established in 1898 with the intent of creating a free, public library. The library was first housed in the Newport Mutual Fires Insurance building at the northwest corner of 4th and Monmouth Streets. The library board contacted Andrew Carnegie in 1899, and $20,000 was granted to construct a new building. After considering several potential sites, a lot was chosen at the southeast corner of 4th and Monmouth. Cincinnati architects Werner and Adkins, who later designed the Norwood Library, were hired. The Newport library is a two-story, Bedford limestone building in the Italian Renaissance style. The main entrance is on Monmouth Street. The upper floor was designed as a large auditorium, known as "Carnegie Hall," accessed by a separate entrance on 4th Street. The Newport Public Library was opened on 25 June 1902 with a program of speeches and music.

Over the next 100 years, the library grew and evolved. Within three years of opening, the library's collections had nearly tripled and included almost 200 German-language books. In 1937, the basement was refurbished to house the children's room and the reference room. In the 1940s, the first children's story hours were held, and borrowing privileges were extended to all residents of Campbell County for a small fee. Eventually, the Campbell County Library System would be formed in the late 1970s as a true county-wide system. The Carnegie building became known as the Newport Branch library, but was still owned by the city of Newport until the city deeded it to the library system in 1982.

A major renovation began in 1987. Upstairs, the "Carnegie Hall" auditorium was divided up to make a new children's area, an office, and a smaller meeting room. New shelving and paint were ordered and the building was air conditioned. Renovations were completed in January of 1989, and the Newport Carnegie library remained open for another fifteen years. In 2003, ground was broken for a new Newport branch, which was opened 16 May 2004. The Carnegie building remained vacant for several years until it was purchased in 2007. After renovations to bring the building to code, interior redecoration transformed the building into today's Carnegie Event Center. The upstairs auditorium has been reopened into one large space. The main floor and basement rooms are meeting rooms of various sizes. The center can be rented for groups of 20 to 500.

References:
Mueller, Jan. Soul of the City
Campbell County Public Library

Address of Library Building: 401 Monmouth Street Newport, Kentucky USA 41071 Current Use of Building: event center Year Built (optional): 1902 Website about building: [Web Link]

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