1899 - Andrew Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie, Pennsylvania - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

[from the library's website]
This beautiful old building in the heart of Carnegie has served as a beacon of education, culture and community activities for not only the town of Carnegie, but for the entire Chartiers Valley. Built with money provided by the famed industrialist, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall (ACFL&MH) is one of only four endowed libraries built by Andrew Carnegie in the United States.
The ACFL&MH is the county's fifth oldest Carnegie Library. The ACFL&MH is distinguished not only by its age and endowment, but by the fact that the town it graces was named for Mr. Carnegie. In 1894, the two boroughs of Mansfield and Chartiers consolidated to become one - Carnegie - in order to encourage the philanthropist to donate a library and high school to the new community. Indeed, while the Carnegie name is internationally associated with libraries and he ultimately went on to build more than 2500 of them, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is the only library in the country bearing Mr. Carnegie's first name!

The "Carnegie Carnegie" is an imposing "Italianate" structure, situated prominently in a park-like setting of sweeping lawns and majestic old trees in the center of Carnegie. As with a few other historic Carnegie institutions, library does not adequately describe the facility. In addition to serving as a community library of 30,000 volumes serving 36,000 patrons a year, the ACFL&MH houses a lecture hall, a gymnasium, a 780-seat music hall as well as various meeting rooms and offices.

The facility is also home to a genuine national treasure: the Civil War Room that local veterans of that war used from 1906 until the mid-1930s for meetings and to house their collection of flags, books, prints and relics. When the Thomas Espy Post of the Grand Army of the Republic ceased operations, the Civil War Room was locked and left undisturbed for 50 years. Not only does it house invaluable artifacts, but it provides a unique historical record of the first part of the century. Click here for additional information on the Civil War Room.

The Carnegie Music Hall - just off Broadway in downtown Carnegie - is an elegant theater modeled on the acoustic excellence of its only slightly more famous New York City counterpart. The Music Hall is home to three resident performing arts companies: Carnegie Performing Arts Center, a non-profit dance and drama school; Pittsburgh Savoyards, the longest running theatrical troupe in Western Pennsylvania and specializing in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas; and Stage 62, a true community theater for more than 40 years, performs four popular plays annually. The Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves, a Civil War re-enactment group, maintains and provides tours of the Civil War Room. The Music Hall with its supporting spaces is the only theater facility west of downtown Pittsburgh (other than those that are part of a school). In 1981, the ACFL&MH was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of only three buildings in the Chartiers Valley to bear this distinction.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall was built as a focal point for its growing mill town, and indeed it has served in that capacity for 100 years and five generations of families -- not only from Carnegie but from the surrounding communities of Collier Township, Heidelberg, Oakdale, Pennsbury Village, Pittsburgh, Robinson Township, Rosslyn Farms, Scott Township, and Thornburg.

--
A short history of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library [Source: Glenn A. Walsh, "Talk on the History of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library Carnegie, Pennsylvania For Centennial of Library Dedication 2002 October 8"]

It all started on February 20, 1894, when the Borough of Mansfield,
on this side of Chartiers Creek, and the Borough of Chartiers, on the
opposite side of Chartiers Creek, solidified the intergovernmental
cooperation that had already been occurring with a merger of the two
municipalities. The voters agreed to name the new town "Carnegie,"
after the leading industrialist of that day, Andrew Carnegie.
As Carnegie Borough was already an industrial center, some civic
leaders had hoped this honor would induce Andrew Carnegie to
establish a new steel mill in his namesake town. However, the Carnegie
Steel Company already had three major plants in Braddock,
Homestead, and Duquesne and had no plans to open new plants.
Another drawback was that Chartiers Creek was not navigable for
commercial barges.

On November 5, 1895, Andrew Carnegie gave the keynote address
at the dedication of the main branch of The Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh, in Oakland. In his address, he publicly announced his
intention to build a library in his namesake town of Carnegie.

During the negotiations that ensued, Carnegie Borough officials
asked if a high school could be built with the library. Andrew Carnegie
felt that it was most appropriate for the taxpayers to fund buildings for
public education. Although he did not say no to the request for a high
school, he did say that it would be his preference to build a music hall
with the library. At a town meeting, the people of Carnegie quickly
agreed to the offer of a library and music hall.
The taxpayers of Carnegie did build a new high school, which was
completed before the library opened. This new high school was located
at the bottom of, what would eventually be known as, Library Hill. It
was built there, to be in close proximity to the library, and, special steps
were constructed to expedite travel between the high school and the
library. In addition to the students' use of the library-proper, high
school concerts, plays, and other assemblies occurred in the music hall,
as the high school did not have an auditorium.
So, on April 26, 1898, Andrew Carnegie wrote a letter to William
Hill, the first Library Board President, and George Hosack, the Board
Secretary, offering "$200,000 upon a fireproof building for a Public
Library... also $10,000 to furnish the first supply of books." It should be
noted that most towns, receiving a Carnegie Library building, did not
receive extra money for books. In addition to building an 800-seat Music
Hall with the Library, a Lecture Hall was also constructed on the
Building's second floor, as Andrew Carnegie was told that the Carnegie
Borough Council needed a place to meet. Carnegie Borough Council
continued meeting in the Library Lecture Hall, until they obtained their
own building and Council Chamber in the 1970s.
$26,000 was used to buy the property for the building, on a site
in the middle of town, on a hill overlooking the business district. $81,000
was used to construct and furnish the building. And, $93,000 was reserved
as an endowment fund, to assist in the financial maintenance
of the facility.

What many people do not realize is that the land purchased for the
library, by Andrew Carnegie, goes much beyond the building. A small
section of library property actually runs all the way to Main Street,
at the intersection with Broadway--the new sundial, at this intersection, is
actually on library property. Andrew Carnegie considered this excess land
to be a small in-town park, for the citizens of Carnegie. Erected on the
wall of the Library Foyer is a plaque, which states:

"THIS BUILDING AND PARK
GIVEN AND DEDICATED BY
ANDREW CARNEGIE
TO THE CITIZENS OF THIS BOROUGH
ANNO DOMINI 1899"

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library was the fourth of only five
libraries, built by Andrew Carnegie, which received an endowment. The
other libraries receiving an endowment were in his native hometown of
Dunfermline, Scotland in 1881, Braddock, Pa. built in 1889, Homestead,
Pa. built in 1898, and the City of Duquesne, Pa. in 1904. Although
Carnegie Institute, better known today as The Carnegie Museums of
Pittsburgh, also received an endowment, the Carnegie Libraries in the
cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, now Pittsburgh's North Side, did not
receive an endowment.
All of the other 2,806 libraries donated throughout the English-
speaking world by Andrew Carnegie were required to receive an annual
subsidy from their home municipality. In most cases, this annual
maintenance pledge, which became known as "The Carnegie Formula,"
was calculated as ten percent of the cost of the library building.
The Andrew Carnegie Free Library was legally formed with the
execution, by Andrew Carnegie, of a Declaration of Trust agreement on
April 20, 1899. This Trust agreement is the legal charter or constitution of
the Library, enforced by the Orphans' Court of Allegheny County.
The Declaration of Trust agreement set in-place Andrew Carnegie's
philosophy for the proper governance of a public library. The Trust set-up
a 17-member Board of Trustees, consisting of 10 Life Trustees appointed
by Andrew Carnegie and 7 Ex-Officio Trustees consisting of the 6
members of the Carnegie Borough Council and the Burgess of Carnegie,
which later became Mayor of Carnegie. With the approval of the Orphans'
Court two years ago, this Board of Trustees structure was streamlined to
consist of 9 Term Trustees and 3 Ex-Officio Trustees.
The Trust agreement also declared that the name of the institution
would be the Andrew Carnegie Free Library. This was the first and only
time that a public library was permitted to use Andrew Carnegie's first
name as part of the name of the library. There is one academic library that
was also permitted to use his first name: the Andrew Carnegie Library of
Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. However, there is no
other public library which uses his first name.
In general, Andrew Carnegie did not require that a library
constructed with his money use his last name--although, as with our
library, there were a few exceptions. All of the early libraries funded by
Andrew Carnegie were required to have the words "Free Library" or
"Free to the People" inscribed on the front of the building. He wanted
these words to be literally engraved in stone, to ensure that no library he
funded ever charged an admission fee!
On October 19, 1899, the Cornerstone was laid for the Library and
construction was begun. The Cornerstone, which can be seen when
entering the Library, simply says "ERECTED A.D. 1899." Inside the
Cornerstone is a time capsule which includes Andrew Carnegie's letter, of
April 26, 1898, granting $210,000 for construction of the Library, as well as
a cablegram, from Mr. Carnegie, congratulating the citizens of Carnegie
for the beginning of construction of the Library. The time capsule also
includes issues of the Carnegie Item, Chartiers Valley Signal, Carnegie
Union, and some Pittsburgh newspapers. The program of the day, list of
the Library Board of Trustees, and a number of personal and business
cards were also placed in the time capsule.
On April 9, 1900, the Library Board of Trustees established the By-
Laws of the new organization. As with the Library's Trust agreement,
these By-Laws remained unchanged until the mid-1990s.
The Andrew Carnegie Free Library opened its doors to the public on
May 1, 1901. The first book checked-out of the new Library was titled,
"Triumphant Democracy," authored by Andrew Carnegie! The first event
in the new Music Hall came on May 10, 1901, with a concert by the
Carnegie Men's Glee Club.
Andrew Carnegie was not able to attend either event. So, the official
dedication of the Library came on April 22, 1902. This was a very warm
Spring day. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, the high
temperature of +86 degrees F that day is still the record high temperature
in Pittsburgh for the date of April 22! Andrew Carnegie leased a streetcar
to travel to Carnegie that day.
Accompanying Andrew Carnegie to the dedication ceremony was his
good friend John A. Brashear, who was well-known as an astronomer,
telescope-maker, and educator. At this time John Brashear was Chancellor
of the Western University of Pennsylvania, which is now known
as the University of Pittsburgh. A few years earlier, he had been Director
of the Allegheny Observatory.
The John A. Brashear Company built telescopes, large and small, as
well as other precision scientific instruments, that were distributed
throughout the world. Many Brashear telescopes are still in use today,
including large ones at the Allegheny Observatory and the Nicholas E.
Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park in the North Hills.
Emma Danziger Krass, the grandmother of tonight's keynote
speaker Peter Krass, also attended the Library dedication. At age 5, she
sang with her first grade class from Lincoln School.
During the dedication ceremony, Andrew Carnegie presented
another gift to the Library--a stage curtain for the Music Hall, which
included a painting of his Scottish home, Skibo Castle.

Year of construction: 1899 Full inscription: ERECTED A.D. 1899 Cross-listed waymark: Not listed

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