The construction of the Carnegie Library in 1908 was the culmination of 10 years’ effort by the Phoenix Women’s Club who thought the young city needed such a facility. Andrew Carnegie, the wealthy Scottish immigrant, donated $25,000 for the construction of the building and the City of Phoenix donated the land. The library was designed by W.R. Norton, an early-day Phoenix architect, and its style is specifically unique. I went back to the library five times in order to get a picture I was happy with. The pinkish-orange brick is oftentimes difficult to portray. The biggest problem was overexposure. We have extremely bright sunshine in Phoenix and with no other adjacent structures to give it any kind of shadow, almost every time of the day was not good for photographing this beautiful building. I finally got something at least adequate today on my second trip! At the time of its dedication the library held over 7,000 books. Today the facility is owned by the State of Arizona and houses the Arizona Department of Libraries, Archives, and Public Records. It has been placed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Register.
For a back and side view of the library, go to FKH Photo Journal (CLICK HERE).
9 comments:
You have an abundance of nice old buildings near you. I like this one and it's story too!
I really like the way the columns look so inviting.
It is funny, I have been 100s of times, but never put the Andrew Carnegie connection... I must have been in a fog each and every visit. Thank you for the background...
Happy Mothers Day!
I can see how difficult it would be to photograph this, but you did a very good job! Happy Mother's Day, Kathy!
That's a beautiful library. Grand and inviting at the same time.
This is a great shot...I love that you put so much thought and effort into your photos. I'm sorry I'm so late visiting today...busy, busy.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!!
The building itself is so nice and inviting.
I just love Carnegie libraries! We have one in Paso Robles which I blogged about in March of this year (the link is below). They are all unique and so beautiful. The Phoenix one is lovely.
http://thelawsonsofspanishlakes.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
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