BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Pittsburgh -- Carnegie Public Library (Allegheny Regional)

PA -- Pittsburgh -- Carnegie Public Library (Allegheny Regional):

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Description of Pictures: The library was closed due to damage from a lightning strike. It sounded a bit like the plot to "Back to the Future" but the following is from http://www.carnegielibrary.org/about/pressroom/2006/allegheny083106.html

Repairs to Begin on Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Allegheny Regional
Press Contact: Suzanne M. Thinnes
Communications Manager
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 412-578-2458
412-688-8609 (fax)
412-491-6889 (cell)
For Immediate Release

(PITTSBURGH, PA - August 31, 2006) The City of Pittsburgh has approved a plan that will repair the damage to the building housing Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Allegheny Regional. The building, located at 5 Allegheny Square, has been closed since April 7, 2006 after a lightning strike caused part of the facility's clock tower to explode sending large debris into the building's roof and clock tower structure.

As owner of the building, the city is working with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) to ensure that all essential repairs to the roof and HVAC system are made. As one of three tenants in the building, CLP was required to insure the building, and it is the Library's insurance that will cover the multimillion dollar repair cost. Work is slated to begin sometime this fall. The building's additional two tenants, the Hazlett Theatre and a senior center operated by the City of Pittsburgh, will not be affected by the repairs and will continue regular operations.

The city and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh have also agreed that the building does not currently meet the needs of a modern neighborhood library and that this is a good opportunity for the Library to seek alternate space in the same neighborhood.

Originally constructed in 1890, the four story building is an historic landmark. The City of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh recognize the value of the historic nature of the building and want to see a reuse for the facility. The city is currently working with Pittsburgh History and La ...More...

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] CARLAR_070827_05.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] CARLAR_070827_07.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] CARLAR_070827_16.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[4] CARLAR_070827_19.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[5] CARLAR_070827_23.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[6] CARLAR_070827_26.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[7] CARLAR_070827_27.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[8] CARLAR_070827_31.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CARLAR_070827_26.JPG: By the steps, you can see pieces from the collapse in the 2006 lightning strike.
Multi Column: Number of columns of thumbnails to appear per page (normally defaults to 3): [1 col] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Description of Subject Matter: First Free Public Library Building in the United States.
Donated by Andrew Carnegie
Supported by Public Funds
Completed in 1890

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Allegheny Regional has been a landmark on the Northside since it was dedicated by President Benjamin Harrison on February 20, 1890. Working as a bobbin boy in an Allegheny City cotton mill, Andrew Carnegie was befriended by Colonel James Anderson, who opened his private library for public use. This generosity so influenced the young Carnegie that he resolved to devote his wealth to the same purpose.

Built in what was formerly the City of Allegheny, The Carnegie Free Library (as it was originally called), became the model for the thousands of publicly funded Carnegie libraries across the country. Carnegie once said, "Allegheny was my first love," and it was here that he offered $250,000 to build a library on the condition that it would be municipally supported. The City of Allegheny accepted Mr. Carnegie's offer in 1886. The building eventually cost $300,000 and in 1915 Mr. Carnegie gave an additional $150,000 for its enlargement. The building also housed a music hall with seating for 1,100 people. The architects were Smithmeyer and Pelz of Washington, D.C., who had completed the Library Congress in 1889.

In 1956, the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny merged with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to become the Allegheny Regional Branch Library. In 1967, plans were drawn for remodeling and library operations were moved to rented quarters in Allegheny Center Mall. The interior renovation and exterior cleaning of the massive granite structure took seven years, and on May 19, 1974, the first free Carnegie public library supported by public funds reopened its doors. Since its original construction in 1889, the library has been renovated several times, in 1897, 1905 and 1958. Additions were constructed in 1901 and 1906.

NOTE: Above text excerpted from the 1990 brochure The Carnegie Library of Pitts ...More...
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2007 photos: Trips this year: Two weeks down south (including Graceland, Shiloh, VIcksburg, and New Orleans), a week at a time share in Costa Rica over my 50th birthday, a week off for a family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with sidetrips to Dayton, Springfield, and Madison), a week in San Diego for the Comic-Con with a side trip to Michigan for two family reunions, a drive up to Niagara Falls, a couple of weekend jaunts including the Civil War Preservation Trust Grand Review in Vicksburg, and a December journey to three state capitols (Richmond, Raleigh, and Columbia). I saw sites in 18 states and 3 other countries this year -- the first year I'd been to more than two other countries since we lived in Venezuela when I was a little toddler. Ego strokes: A photo that I took at the National Archives was used as the author photo on the book jacket for David A. Nichols' "A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution." I became a volunteer photographer at both Sixth and I Historic Synagogue and the Civil War Preservation Trust (later renamed "Civil War Trust").. Equipment this year: I used the Fuji S9000 almost exclusively except for the period when it broke and I had to send it back for repairs. In August, I bought a Canon Rebel Xti, my first digital SLR (vs regular digital) which I tried as well but I wasn't that excited by it. Number of photos taken this year: 225,000.
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