Wow. Just–WOW! Dopers & Libraries go together like fish & water, so check it out!
It’s sites like this that make me wish we could post images!
That is sweet, that is totally where Burgess Meredith should have ended up after snagging some new glasses from a corpse.
And BOOOOOOOOOO Cincinnati for closing it. :mad:
Beautiful ironwork, but the stacks look like a deathtrap.
It looks awesome. Thank you for sharing!
I’m mostly impressed by how many people are in the photographs. I can remember life before the internet–barely–and I don’t remember libraries being that packed even then.
That’s because it was before the internet and before TV. And in some of the photos, before movies and before radio and before cars.
I wonder if anyone ever jumped?
Gorgeous pictures. I love the third one from the bottom with the spiral staircase very visible.
Little Rock spread their book collection among several branches in the city. The main library and branches were sometimes busy, but never crowded like in the old library.
I’ve never been in a library with huge, towering shelves like in the OP.
I wonder why it closed. Shame.
That first photo says 1874, but he’s not dressed right for that era (nor were there good photographs then, if any). Probably more likely to be in the 1940s or later.
They had stereoscopes???
My library doesn’t have stereoscopes. All they have are computers and 3-d printers and crap. No VR of any sort.
(And for some reason a tower garden with lights growing very expensive lettuce.)
Gorgeous, but not the place for acrophobiacs like me. I get nauseated just looking at that first photo. If that place were my childhood library, my reading would’ve been confined to the first level.
Seeing that first picture, I hoped they had plenty of well-marked fire exits.
Yeah, I think the railings are lower than what would be permitted today, unless that guy in the first picture is seven feet tall. Lean back a little bit and you could go right over the top.
A rather timely thread, since I was just in this library last week; not very big, and a very dry selection I’m sure, but just a gorgeous room.
Where is that, Robot Arm?
A new, modern library opened up so they demolished this one. Crazy, right!? Here is a picture of the library being destroyed:
From here:
sigh,
I wish my town had a library like those pictured in this thread.
Not even a grow operation like ftg’s library. My local libraries are all bland at best.
It’s in the state capitol building in Rhode Island. It’s all sorts of legal and governmental documents; Congressional records going back to the founding of the U.S., and state records back to the original Rhode Island Royal Charter.
Did you notice the photo of the black children at the library?
That’s a bit surprising since these were taken before 1955.
Segregation was common in many, many states besides the South.
I’d guess it was like movie theaters that had a separate entrance and seating area. The library probably had a separate entrance.
So glad that foolishness and stupid thinking is in the past.
Just noticed the triple sink and faucets in that photo.
Was that a converted restroom?
The other article mentioned they were running out of space. They may have gotten a bit creative to make more room.
The sign says, Get towel at desk before washing your hands.
We have towering modern monstrosities built of metal and glass. I don’t understand the ridiculously high ceilings as I’m sure it costs a fortune to heat those things.