- Collection:
- Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
- Title:
- Carnegie Library, 537 East Henry Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA
- Creator:
- Historic American Buildings Survey
- Contributor to Resource:
- Kops, Julian deBruyn,
Bertram, James,
Colored Library Association of Savannah,
Carnegie, Andrew,
Lowe, Jennifer, field team
Arvay, Ryan, field team
Cutts, Sophie, field team
DeCoster, Amelia, field team
Fritz, Paul Michael, field team
Hessian, Carleigh, field team
Klubeck, Alyssa, field team
Smolinski, Tori, field team
Stephens, Oliver, field team
Werner, Peter, field team - Date of Original:
- 1933/9999
- Subject:
- Savannah (Ga.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
libraries
philanthropy
African Americans
Prairie School architectural elements
brick buildings
raised basements
brick columns
water tables - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Chatham County, Savannah, 32.08354, -81.09983
- Medium:
- photographs
field notes - Type:
- Still Image
Text - Description:
- Measured Drawing(s): 10 | Data Page(s): 6
2015 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Honorable Mention
Significance: Erected in 1914, the Carnegie Library was Savannah's first African American library and was made possible by a donation from Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a self-made millionaire and philanthropist who was inspired at a young age by the opportunities that libraries provide their patrons. A town in any English-speaking nation could apply for a construction grant by writing to Carnegie's secretary James Bertram. Bertram would send a questionnaire that had to be completed and returned before consideration was made. Upon acceptance of library funding, the city was required to follow Carnegie's stipulations which included establishing an ongoing maintenance fund and a requirement that the proposed lot must be large enough for later building expansion. The Colored Library Association of Savannah completed these preliminary tasks and Carnegie accepted their application. Carnegie did not require his libraries in the southern states to be desegregated, but rather would assist in the building of a "blacks only" library so that everyone in the community had the same opportunities. The Carnegie Library on Henry Street is not only the first African American library in Savannah, but the first freestanding library in the city altogether. The building was designed by local architect and engineer Julian deBruyn Kops. The design of the building's exterior was left entirely up to the local architect, which was common practice for Carnegie libraries.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2094
Survey number: HABS GA-302
Building/structure dates: 1914-1915 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1998 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after 2001- 2004 Subsequent Work - Local Identifier:
- HABS GA-302
- Metadata URL:
- http://www.loc.gov/item/ga1147/
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
- Original Collection:
- Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
- Holding Institution:
- Library of Congress
- Rights:
-
