Carnegie Free Library of Braddock, Public library in Braddock, United States.
The Carnegie Free Library of Braddock is a public library in Braddock, Pennsylvania, housed in a brick building built in the Romanesque Revival style with an octagonal tower. Decorative cast-iron panels run beneath the windows, and the interior is arranged across two floors, with separate sections for adults and children.
The library was founded in 1888 and personally dedicated by Andrew Carnegie in March 1889, making it the first of his libraries to open in the United States. That opening set in motion a nationwide program that eventually funded the construction of thousands of similar public libraries across the country.
The library holds a music hall, a pottery studio, and an art lending collection from which visitors can borrow original artworks to display at home. This mix of offerings turns the building into a place where creativity is part of everyday life, not just a special occasion.
The adult section is on the ground floor, while the children's area is on the second floor. The building also contains a gymnasium, a swimming pool, and a bowling alley that can be reached from within, so it is worth checking which areas are open on the day of your visit.
When the building expanded in 1893, it added a duckpin bowling alley, a variation of bowling that uses smaller balls with no finger holes and is largely found in the Maryland and Pennsylvania region. This made the library one of the very few in the world where you could bowl without ever leaving the building.
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