
Library - It starts with a single page 1920

by Mike Savad
Title
Library - It starts with a single page 1920
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1920
Original Title: Old Library - Cathedral Room
Location: 629 Vine St. Cincinnati OH
From the collection of the public library of Cincinnati and Hamilton county
Every story in life, everything you do, everything you learn all starts with a single page. In this case, its that guy up there. A page is a person who is sent out to get the book you need. Like a general store of the past, a person retrieved your book. It's only single file up there, and usually pretty dark. Despite all the large windows.
This was the Old public library of Cincinnati. Sometime in the 1860's, the city ran out of space in their old library and needed a new building fast. The board of education found a building that would be perfect for their needs. It was a building still under construction designed to be an opera house. in 1868 they were able to buy it because that project went bankrupt. The outside of the building was already built, they just had to make the inside.
It was a grand library, built like a cathedral with windows and skylights, marble floors, a grand entrance. The shelves were cast iron, and it held a lot of books. This library was used for many years.
However after awhile, they too were filled to capacity, the paint started to peel everywhere and in 1955, the library closed. No one cared that it closed, despite how pretty it was. The site of this library is now a parking garage, ironically a place to store cars.
Uploaded
July 21st, 2016
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