MNN.com > Lifestyle > Arts & Culture

MNN Galleries

12 impressive Carnegie libraries still in use today

By: Angela Nelson on Sept. 29, 2016, 6:37 a.m.

Teddington Carnegie Library in England

Photo: Jonathan Cardy/Wikimedia Commons

11 of 14

Teddington Carnegie Library in England

Built in 1906 in Edwardian Baroque style, this public library was designed by famed British architect Henry Cheers. It's still in operation today and serves the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2009, the library reopened after a six-month renovation that added space and rooms while preserving its rich history. There's a garden in the rear and a big glazed dome inside the brick-and-stone structure, according to Historic England.

Andrew Carnegie's motto, "Let There Be Light," is pictured on Edinburgh Central Library in Scotland.

The Central Library in Dunfermline, Scotland, was the world's first Carnegie Library, opening in August 1883.

Braddock Carnegie Library in Pennsylvania was the first Carnegie library in the United States.

Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland

The main library and 18 branches of the Pittsburgh public library system are Carnegie libraries.

University Library in Leuven, Belgium

Carnegie Library in Union, Oregon

The Carnegie Center of Columbia-Tusculum, Cincinnati

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Carnegie Library in Savannah, Georgia

Teddington Carnegie Library in England

Grass Valley Public Library in California

Yorkville Library in Toronto

Teddington Carnegie Library in England

Built in 1906 in Edwardian Baroque style, this public library was designed by famed British architect Henry Cheers. It's still in operation today and serves the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2009, the library reopened after a six-month renovation that added space and rooms while preserving its rich history. There's a garden in the rear and a big glazed dome inside the brick-and-stone structure, according to Historic England.