{"nrhp_refnum":"80003402","name":"Carnegie Free Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1507 Liberty Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"McKeesport","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.34517948400003,"lon":-79.85531998599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A cruciform Richardsonian Romanesque public library occupying a terraced site bounded by Carnegie, Library and Union Streets in a residential section of McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It rises one-and-a-half stories above a raised basement and was built with funds from Andrew Carnegie.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the library typifies Andrew Carnegie's gifts of libraries to communities during his 'retail' and 'wholesale' philanthropic periods. Architecturally it is presented as a significant local focal point, designed by William J. East in a Richardsonian Romanesque manner that reworks Richardson's Converse Memorial Library in Malden, Massachusetts.","narrative":"Built in 1900-1902 on a terraced corner site in McKeesport, this cruciform Richardsonian Romanesque library rises one-and-a-half stories above a raised basement, with rock-faced ashlar walls, a cross gable roof, and an octagonal stair tower at the junction of its two wings. The design was produced by William J. East, a Pittsburgh architect known for church work, who adapted the fenestration and tower of Henry Hobson Richardson's Converse Memorial Library in Malden, Massachusetts. The building was financed by a $50,000 gift from Andrew Carnegie, with the city supplying a one-and-a-half acre site donated by the Oliver Evans Estate. Carnegie's gift covered construction only, and a further $5,000 from Charles M. Schwab and local citizens bought the first books. The library opened on July 15, 1902 with 3,000 volumes. It is regarded as a representative example of Carnegie's library program and as a carefully sited civic building in its neighborhood.","period_of_significance":"1900-1902","architect_builder":"William J. East (architect); Daniel Stratton (builder)","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.839442-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003402.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003402/e6ec215bb5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003402/e6ec215bb5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Antony-22","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library_McKeesport_2018b.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Antony-22</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library_McKeesport_2018b.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996434","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Library_of_McKeesport","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5043892"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/carnegie-free-library-80003402/"}