{"nrhp_refnum":"81000542","name":"Carnegie Free Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Pittsburgh St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Connellsville","county":"Fayette County","state":"PA","lat":40.015739722000035,"lon":-79.58829547699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-10-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Carnegie-funded public library building of Ohio buff stone on Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, built 1901-03. It sits on a park-like lot near the business district.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant as an example of the free public library program funded by Andrew Carnegie and as a symbol of the industrial era that produced it. It also describes the local community's contested decision to take on tax-funded maintenance and the cemetery condemnation needed to secure the site. The building's open reading-room layout, with a view from the delivery desk, is cited as an unusual feature for its time.","narrative":"Built of Ohio buff stone in 1901-03 on Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville, this two-story library is described as Italian Renaissance in style. Its main entrance is set in a two-story projection with a fanlight and a decorated gable, and the stone Ionic columns between the floors were part of the original design. The first floor had two reading rooms on either side of a delivery lobby, and the librarian's desk commanded views of all the rooms. Turnstiles at the entrance required visitors to pass under the librarian's eye. Andrew Carnegie's grant of $50,000 was conditional on the town maintaining the library from tax funds, and Connellsville agreed in 1899. Building the library required condemning and relocating an old cemetery, which caused local dispute. Voters approved a library tax in 1904. The building is regarded as a record of the industrial growth of the region and the self-education that its immigrant residents pursued.","period_of_significance":"1901-1903","architect_builder":"J. M. McCollum, Pittsburgh (architect); J. A. Nixon, Titusville (builder)","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Original terra cotta roof tile has been replaced; a basement room is used by a local club and the second floor houses a women's group and historical society.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.754096-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/81000542.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000542/7db9985188-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000542/7db9985188-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jet Lowe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Free_Library,_Connellsville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jet Lowe</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Free_Library,_Connellsville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995134","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Free_Library_(Connellsville,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5043891"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/fayette-county/carnegie-free-library-81000542/"}