{"nrhp_refnum":"74001736","name":"Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny","other_names":["North Side Branch","Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Allegheny Center","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.453142566000054,"lon":-80.00515095099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-11-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two and a half story Richardsonian Romanesque library building of rock-face granite on the North Side of Pittsburgh, in the Allegheny district. It was completed in 1889 and dedicated in 1890, with Andrew Carnegie as the funder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building incorporates nearly every stylistic feature of Richardsonian Romanesque at the height of that movement. Its tower with lighted clock faces has dominated the area since construction, and it is treated as an important local landmark. It was also the first of the Carnegie libraries in Pittsburgh.","narrative":"Completed in 1889 and dedicated in 1890, the Allegheny library on the North Side of Pittsburgh was funded by Andrew Carnegie, who offered $240,000 for a library in 1886 on condition that a site be donated. The City of Allegheny provided the Third Ward Square, and the commission went to Smithmeyer and Pelz of Washington, D.C., selected from eighteen competition entries. The two and a half story building is constructed of rock-face granite laid in courses of alternating sizes, with rusticated foundation, corner buttresses and elevations. Its dominant square tower has a pyramidal roof and lighted clock faces, and it is also marked by turrets, projecting bays, stone mullions and archivolts. The building was originally planned to include a music hall and lecture hall. It is regarded as a bold and imaginative example of Richardsonian Romanesque and as a landmark of the neighbourhood, and it was the first Carnegie library in Pittsburgh.","period_of_significance":"1889-90","architect_builder":"Smithmeyer and Pelz (architects, Washington, D.C.)","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"The building is undergoing an extensive interior and exterior renovation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:31.122984-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001736.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001736/5219ca1af6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001736/5219ca1af6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Nicolas Veron","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library_Allegheny.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicolas Veron</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library_Allegheny.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997778","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Free_Library_of_Allegheny","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5043895"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/carnegie-free-library-of-allegheny-74001736/"}