{"nrhp_refnum":"81000523","name":"Carnegie, Andrew, Free Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 Beechwood Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carnegie","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.406866781000076,"lon":-80.08526375099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-10-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Beaux Arts style library and community building on a hill overlooking the town of Carnegie, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, at 300 Beechwood Avenue. It contains the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, a Music Hall, a gymnasium and a council room.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a good example of a library and community building donated and endowed by Andrew Carnegie in 1899, and a fine example of Beaux Arts styling popular at the turn of the century. It notes that Carnegie dedicated the building and that it is the only library he permitted to use his first name in its official name. Its original furnishings and fixtures are largely intact, and it has served the community continuously for about 80 years.","narrative":"Set on a hill above the town of Carnegie in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, this two-story Beaux Arts library and community building was completed between 1898 and 1901 with funds from Andrew Carnegie, who presided at its dedication. Its symmetrical front has a rusticated basement, a bracketed cornice, a monumental entrance stair and Corinthian columns. The building combines a library wing with a Music Hall seating 800, and it still houses a gymnasium and a council room. Interior features include solid oak fittings, marble floors in the center hall and music hall, and doorknobs bearing a cast letter C. The building is regarded as a fine local example of the style popular at the turn of the century. It is also significant for its long social role, having served residents for about 80 years. A memorial room holds records and relics of local Civil War veterans of Captain Thomas P. Espy G.A.R. Post 153, transferred to the library in 1906.","period_of_significance":"1898-1901","architect_builder":"Dushane & Lewis (architect); Struthers & Hannah (builder)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Exterior and interior substantially unaltered from original design; Music Hall, gymnasium and council room still in use; Civil War memorial room closed for many years.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.371705-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/81000523.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000523/9511a852cc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000523/9511a852cc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AndrewCarnegieFreeLibrary.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</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:AndrewCarnegieFreeLibrary.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994911","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie_Free_Library_%26_Music_Hall_(Carnegie,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4756546"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/carnegie-andrew-free-library-81000523/"}