The old public library of Cincinnati was built in 1874 on the site reserved for an opera house. It was one of the country’s most beautiful and large public libraries, with a capacity for holding up to 300,000 books in its collection. With five levels of cast-iron shelving, a fabulous foyer, checkerboard marble floors, and an atrium lit by a skylight ceiling, the place was breathtaking. The building was located in Downtown Cincinnati at 629 Vine St. downtown Cincinnati. Five levels of bookshelves jammed the walls. Shafts of sunlight cut through the windows to provide ample illumination. The library was built at a cost of $383,594.53, around $7 million today.
Why was the Cincinnati Library demolished?
There were several reasons behind the demolition of this magnificent library. The books were stacked beyond the reach due to a lack of space. The ventilation system was failing, water leaks, the paint was peeling, and some walls were cracked. The building was also had safety issues that were too costly to fix. Eventually, these conditions would make the place unbearable. The management decided to move the library to another place.
In January 1955 a new contemporary library was opened at 800 Vine Street. The old building was sold to Leyman Corp. And by June of 1955, the old building was demolished. The site is now a parking garage. The three heads that once guarded the main entrance of the library were the only original features of the building that were saved and placed in the new library’s garden.
These historical photographs give us a glimpse of the Public Library of Cincinnati before it was demolished in 1955.
The building was originally built as a theater and the iron shelves were added after it was converted into a library. The library eventually outgrew the building and a purpose-built library was built nearby. There is no denying that it was a tragic loss, but it wasn’t completely pointless. Today, Macy’s occupies the site of the old library. Parking is not available there, as stated in the title.
In retrospect, it’s not so tragic. Cincinnati’s public library system remains one of the best in the country. It may look impressive, but a massive pile of books is unsafe, poorly organized, and wasteful. They could have put in twice as many books if they had built actual floors under those shelves.
Cincinnati wanted an actual library rather than a massive pile of books.
Guess a lot of people dont realize that the library just moved to a better building for a library?
This would be a health and safety nightmare now
Where did all the books go? Is there a new public library being built?
The current library is downtown and it’s amazing. A beautiful building with multiple floors and a rare book archive. Although I’m not sure, I’d imagine the books were transferred to the new library.