Carnegie Library (Lexington, Kentucky)

Last updated
Carnegie Library (or Lexington Carnegie Library?)
CarnegieLex1.jpg
Main facade in 2018
USA Kentucky location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location251 West Second St., Lexington, Kentucky
Coordinates 38°03′01″N84°29′44″W / 38.0502°N 84.4956°W / 38.0502; -84.4956
Part of Gratz Park Historic District (ID73000796 [1] )
Designated CPMarch 14, 1973

The Carnegie Library in Lexington, Kentucky was built in 1905 and served as Lexington's main library until 1989. It is now home of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. [2] It is one of 29 sites on a National Park Service-recommended list of places to visit in Lexington, "Lexington, Kentucky: Athens of the West, a National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. [3]

Contents

The building is a 1906-built Classical Revival-style Carnegie library, at the south end of Gratz Park, designed by architect Herman L. Rowe. It has a tetrastyle portico (observed in photo). It was built in 1906 of Bedford limestone at cost of $75,000, of which $60,000 was funded by the Carnegie Foundation. [2] It was eventually replaced as the Lexington Public Library by a new, large central library on East Main Street. [2]

The library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the Gratz Park Historic District, listed in 1973. [4] It is one of 18 buildings in the district. [4]

It was one of 2,500 public libraries built by Andrew Carnegie's funding between 1883 and 1929. The building reopened as the Carnegie Center in 1992. [5]

Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning

The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit in Lexington, Kentucky dedicated to literacy and the literary arts, hosted within the library. It provides tutoring and classes, sponsors writers' meetups and conferences, and runs the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame program.

Its stated mission is "to empower people to explore and express their voices through imaginative learning and the literary arts." [6]

In 1993, the Carnegie Center's tutoring program was started by Phyllis MacAdam. [7]

In 2013, the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning initiated the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame, [8] and inducted their inaugural class. [9]

In 2014, the Carnegie Center won the Kentucky Foundation for Women's award in education for "two decades of activities focused on promoting literacy and literary arts in Kentucky". [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Lexington is the second-most-populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the 60th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Fayette County. By land area, it is the country's 30th-largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Sterling, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Mount Sterling, often written as Mt. Sterling, is a home rule-class city in Montgomery County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 7,558 as of the 2020 census, up from 6,895 in 2010. It is the county seat of Montgomery County and the principal city of the Mount Sterling micropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lane Allen</span> American novelist (1849–1925)

James Lane Allen was an American novelist and short story writer whose work, including the novel A Kentucky Cardinal, often depicted the culture and dialects of his native Kentucky. His work is characteristic of the late 19th-century local color era, when writers sought to capture the vernacular in their fiction. Allen has been described as "Kentucky's first important novelist".

Paul Laurence DunbarHigh School (PLD/PLDHS), also known as Dunbar High School, is a public high school located at 1600 Man o' War Boulevard on the southwest side of Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The school is one of six high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district.

A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington History Center</span> History museum in Kentucky, United States

The Lexington History Center once housed several independent history museums in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. It was located in the former Fayette County Courthouse until 2012 when the city closed the building for renovation. Prior to the closing of the building, the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum moved to a new location on Georgetown Street. The building has since been renovated into a multi-use commercial, tourist, office and event center.

Cincinnatus Shryock was an American architect. A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunt–Morgan House</span> Historic Federal style residence in Lexington, KY, US

The Hunt–Morgan House, historically known as Hopemont, is a Federal style residence in Lexington, Kentucky built in 1814 by John Wesley Hunt, the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies. The house is included in the Gratz Park Historic District. The Alexander T. Hunt Civil War Museum is located on the second floor of the Hunt–Morgan House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington Public Library</span>

The Lexington Public Library opened in 1905 in Lexington, Kentucky. It incorporated the collection of the former Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former Transylvania Library (est.1795). Today the main location of the Lexington Public Library system is Central Library along East Main Street connected to Park Plaza Apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gratz Park Historic District</span> Historic district in Lexington, Kentucky

Gratz Park is a neighborhood and historic district located just north of downtown Lexington, Kentucky. It was named after early Lexington businessman Benjamin Gratz whose home stands on the corner of Mill and New streets at the edge of Gratz Park. The Gratz Park Historic District consists of 16 contributing buildings including the Hunt-Morgan House, the Bodley-Bullock House, the original Carnegie Library in Lexington, and several other private residences. Gratz Park occupies a tract of land that was established in 1781 outside the original boundaries of Lexington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First African Baptist Church (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Historic church in Kentucky, United States

First African Baptist Church is a Baptist church at 264-272 E. Short Street in Lexington, Kentucky. The congregation was founded c. 1790 by Peter Durrett and his wife, slaves who came to Kentucky with their master, Rev. Joseph Craig, in 1781 with "The Travelling Church" of Baptists from Spotsylvania, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankel & Curtis</span>

Frankel & Curtis was an architectural firm of Lexington, Kentucky. It was a partnership of Leon K. Frankel and of John J. Curtis, along with associates James Slaughter Frankel and Melbourne Mills. A successor name is Frankel, Curtis & Coleman. Under this name, the firm received a 1963 American Institute of Architects Kentucky award, its Honor Award merit prize, for its Admin. Bldg., of the Spindletop Research Center, in Lexington, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglass School (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> School in Lexington, Kentucky

Douglass School in Lexington, Kentucky, US, was both a primary and secondary Fayette County Public Schools from 1929 to 1971. Douglass School operated solely for African American students. The building that once housed Douglass School, located at 465 Price Road, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County in 1998.

James C. Klotter is an American historian who has served as the State Historian of Kentucky since 1980. Klotter is also a history professor at Georgetown College and one of the co-authors of Kentucky's staple history book, A New History of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Matthews</span> American sculptor and painter

Amanda Matthews is an American sculptor and painter from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weisenberger Mills and Related Buildings</span> United States historic place

Weisenberger Mills is the oldest continuously operating grain mill in Kentucky. Located about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Midway, Kentucky, the property straddles Scott and Woodford counties, and the mill is located on the banks of South Elkhorn Creek with a milldam which provides the water to power the mill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McAdams and Morford Building</span> United States historic place

The McAdams and Morford Building in Lexington, Kentucky, also known as the Melodeon Hall, is a 3-story commercial building constructed in 1849. An Italianate cast iron facade was added after 1857. Druggists McAdams & Morford occupied a corner space in the building 1898–1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fayette Safety Vault and Trust Company Building</span> United States historic place

The Fayette Safety Vault and Trust Company Building in Lexington, Kentucky, is a commercial building designed by Herman L. Rowe and constructed in 1890. The stone facade was described as "a strange but compelling mixture of Italianate, Neo-Greek, Gothic, and Romanesque motifs," and "not excelled in appearance by any building in Kentucky." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Herman L. Rowe was an architect active in Lexington, Kentucky. He was an immigrant from Germany. A couple of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Henry A. Tandy was an American building contractor and entrepreneur, specializing in decorative stone masonry and brickwork. Of African-American descent, he was born enslaved in Estill County, Kentucky, and rose to become one of the wealthiest African Americans in Kentucky by the early twentieth century. His best-known commission is the historic Fayette County Courthouse in Lexington, Kentucky (1898–1900). In 2020, the downtown Cheapside Park, which is adjacent to the courthouse, was renamed the Henry A. Tandy Centennial Park in his honor.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "Carnegie Library, Lexington, Kentucky -- National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  3. "Sitelist, Lexington, Kentucky -- National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  4. 1 2 Clay Lancaster (July 20, 1968). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Gratz Park Historic District". National Park Service . Retrieved May 4, 2019. With accompanying eight photos from 1971-73 Includes "Lexington's 'Gratz Park Scene' Rich In Historical Lore" 1946, by C. Frank Dunn, and other news articles.
  5. "Tom Eblen: Neil Chethik to write new chapter for Carnegie Center". Lexington Herald Leader. 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  6. "About Us". The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  7. Tom Eblen (March 12, 2013). "Tom Enlen: In 20 years, Carnegie Center's tutor program has helped thousands". Lexington Herald Leader.
  8. "Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame" . Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  9. "Six inducted into Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame". Lexington Herald Leader. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  10. "Ky. Foundation for Women leader, Carnegie Center among state arts award winners". Lexington Herald Leader. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2023-09-16.