About 25 years ago, the Braddock Carnegie Library, its front door chained, awaited the wrecking ball.
On Tuesday, the first library in America built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie -- restored through an extensive fundraising campaign -- became a National Historic Landmark.
"It means a lot to the people who worked to save this building from being demolished," said Vicki Vargo, executive director of the library. "It's not only a historic landmark, it's an important institution."
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the selection of the library along with 12 other sites. Those include the Montauk Point Lighthouse on Long Island, Fort Apache and Theodore Roosevelt School in Arizona and Florida Southern College in Lakeland, the largest group of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world.
"By designating these sites as National Historic Landmarks, we are ensuring that future generations will know these important chapters in our nation's story and expand opportunities for tourism that generate economic returns for our local communities," Salazar said in a prepared statement.
There are nearly 2,500 National Historic Landmarks in the country. Getting the designation allows the site to display a bronze plaque, get greater access to federal and state grants and federal income tax incentives for easements and rehabilitation and technical information on the care of the property. The designation also requires a review of federal projects, such as a highway, to minimize the impact on the landmark.
The Braddock Library lies three blocks from Braddock's Field, site of an important battle in the French and Indian War, and a few hundred yards from the Edgar Thomson Works, Carnegie's first major steel mill.
Carnegie built the library for his employees and their families, the first of 1,679 libraries he built in the country.
John Hempel, president of the Braddock Library board, likened Carnegie's library-building binge to the Internet.
"It was an information explosion really," he said. "That Carnegie library program virtually doubled the number of public libraries in the country by the time it ended in 1919."
William Halsey Wood designed the sandstone library, which was built in 1888-89, and Alden & Harlow designed the music hall, which was added in 1893. The library contained 20,000 volumes and featured a meeting room, swimming pool, baths, a bowling alley, a billiards room and a gymnasium.
The library fell into disrepair and closed in 1974. Four years later, the Braddock's Field Historical Society bought it from the former General Braddock School District for $1.
Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, recalled touring the building with Tribune-Review publisher and philanthropist Dick Scaife on a winter's day nearly 30 years ago when only one room was open.
"They had the librarian reading to children, and the room was heated by a kerosene heater," Ziegler said.
A gas generator electrified the room, Hempel said.
A group of funders led by the Allegheny Foundation helped restore the property. The library reopened in the 1980s, Hempel said.
Hempel said the designation will help as the library launches a campaign to raise money to keep it running. The building has an operating budget of more than $300,000 a year.
"It's going to be harder to ignore the fact that the library is sitting in the center of town," he said.
Additional Information:Local National Historic Landmarks
There are about 2,500 National Historic Landmarks in the country. Here are some area landmarks:
Allegheny County Courthouse & Jail, Downtown
Bushy Run Battlefield, Westmoreland County
Fallingwater, Mill Run, Fayette County
Forks of the Ohio, Downtown
Harmony Historical District, Butler County
Kennywood Park, West Mifflin
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Jefferson Township, Washington County
Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont and Plum
Old Economy Village, Ambridge, Beaver County
Smithfield Street Bridge, Downtown-South Side
Source: National Park Service
