🏢 Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Allegheny Regional Branch

The North Side branch whose original 1890 building was the first Carnegie library commissioned in the U.S. and home to the country's first Carnegie Music Hall.

📖 About Allegheny Regional Branch

The Allegheny branch traces its roots to the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, commissioned in 1886 as the very first Carnegie library authorized in the United States and dedicated in 1890 in the then-independent city of Allegheny. Its dedication drew Andrew Carnegie and President Benjamin Harrison, and the building broke new ground by being supported through local taxes rather than a private endowment. Designed by Smithmeyer & Pelz, the architects of the Library of Congress, it paired the library with the first Carnegie Music Hall built anywhere in the country. The original granite landmark was badly damaged when lightning struck its tower in 2006. Rather than close the neighborhood's library service, the system reopened the Allegheny branch in a new building a few blocks north on Federal Street in 2009. Today it continues to serve Pittsburgh's North Side while the historic 1890 structure nearby has been adapted for other cultural uses.

⭐ What makes this branch special

• Descends from the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, the first Carnegie library commissioned in the United States (1886, opened 1890)
• Original 1890 dedication was attended by Andrew Carnegie and U.S. President Benjamin Harrison
• The historic building housed the first Carnegie Music Hall in the country and was funded by local taxes rather than an endowment
• Reopened in a new Federal Street building in 2009 after a 2006 lightning strike damaged the original granite landmark

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions