Historic Plaque Sought: West End Branch, Carnegie Library

 
West End Branch, The Carnegie Library
of Pittsburgh
(Source: The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) 


The Friends of the Library, West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, has filed an application nominating the West End Branch of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to receive a historic plaque offered by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

The West End Branch Library was the second neighborhood branch library constructed in Pittsburgh, opening to the public on 1899 January 31. It is the second library to house a specifically-designed and constructed library Children’s Room. In the Lower Level meeting room, a Library custodian painted pictures of children’s literature fictional characters on the doors to several cabinets, in the 1950s.

Story hours for children had their beginning at this library. Charlotte Keith tried storytelling as an experiment. She got the idea from kindergartens which were just opening throughout the country. Youngsters at the branch liked the stories and soon the main Carnegie Library and others all over the United States copied her plan.

The West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was designated a City-Designated Historic Structure, by the City of Pittsburgh, by a unanimous vote of Pittsburgh City Council, on 2004 July 14. At the following Internet address is the statement, delivered by Glenn A. Walsh before Pittsburgh City Council on 2004 June 30, in support of the designation of the West End Branch Library as a City-Designated Historic Structure.

Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/clpgh/ST-DesgWestEnd.htm

The historic plaque will communicate to the public visiting the Library of the Library's rich history. Unlike city or national historic designations, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation is a private organization, and the plaque provides no legal protections for the historic building. A few years ago, a similar historic plaque was mounted on Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, which, like the West End Branch Library, is a Pittsburgh City-Designated Historic Structure.

Once the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation awards a historic plaque to the West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a fundraising campaign will be launched to pay for the metal plaque.

 Historic Plaque Nomination Application for the West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

 Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/friends/clpgh/westend/PlaqueapplicCLPWEnd.html

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
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Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >