Statement before the Glenn A. Walsh
URA Board of
Directors:
Displacement of Telephone:
412-561-7876
Historic Carnegie Free Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@andrewcarnegie.cc >
Library of Allegheny Internet Web
Site: < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc
>
2006
September 14
Good afternoon. I am Glenn A. Walsh of
In an August 31 news release, Carnegie Library
announced a decision to abandon the historic Allegheny Regional Branch Library
building on the North Side, in favor of development of a new library on an
empty lot on
Originally called the Carnegie Free Library of
Allegheny, this library building was very special to Andrew Carnegie as it was
built in the neighborhood where he grew-up. In 1904, Andrew Carnegie commissioned
architect Henry Bacon and sculptor Daniel Chester French, who had collaborated
on the Lincoln Memorial on the Washington Mall, to design and construct a
memorial to his mentor, Col. James Anderson, who had built the city’s
first public library. Originally built adjacent to the Library building, today
this memorial sits next to Buhl Planetarium, directly across from the Library
entrance.
The Allegheny Regional Branch Library building is
Andrew Carnegie’s first publicly-funded Carnegie Library in the country.
With construction of this Library in 1890, Andrew Carnegie started funding
libraries through “The Carnegie Formula,” which required the
community to annually subsidize the library by no less than 10 percent of the
cost of building construction. 1,677 libraries were built in the
The city’s oldest Library building was
completely renovated in the 1970s, so it is not outdated for use as a library.
In fact, before lightning closed the Library in April, it was the fourth
busiest library branch in the city!
In the news release, Carnegie Library states that they
”recognize the value of the historic nature of the building and want to
see a reuse for the facility.” They said the same thing about the
historic Hazelwood Branch Library and Auditorium three years ago—yet,
today the Hazelwood Library building sits empty and unused.
Any major economic development impact of a new library
structure has to be questioned, particularly considering that the original
library site will be empty and unused as is the Hazelwood Library building.
After more than a decade, a new office building and parking garage have not
spurred major redevelopment in the Federal/North project; how can a library
make a greater impact? Construction of The
According to the news release, Carnegie Library has
met with North Side civic leaders and government officials regarding this
issue. This is not a substitute for input from the general public.
I ask that any decision by the URA Board to convey
property to Carnegie Library be deferred, until well-publicized public meetings
in the neighborhood result in a consensus regarding the future of the Allegheny
Regional Branch Library building. A decision to move a library branch should be
from a consensus of the people in the neighborhood, not a decision made behind
closed-doors in
Thank you.
gaw