Southeast Neighborhood Library

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Southeast Neighborhood Library is a neighborhood branch of the DC Library system. It is one of four libraries in Washington, D.C. that was built with funding provided by Andrew Carnegie, known as "Carnegie Libraries." Carnegie provided 67,000 dollars in funding for the construction of the library. Opened in 1922, it was the second neighborhood library built in DC, and was designed by noted library architect Edward L Tilton. The one-story neoclassical building is built on an irregularly shaped triangular lot. In 2019, planning began for a 23 million dollar modernization and renovation of the building and as of 2021, the modernization is now underway.

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Southeast Library is a library constructed with funds provided by Andrew Carnegie

Library in 1949

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Andrew Carnegie was an immigrant from Scotland who made a fortune building an empire in the steel business. Carnegie eventually sold his business, Carnegie Steel, to JP Morgan for 500 million dollars, making him the world's richest man. After amassing a fortune, Carnegie gave away much of his money to build libraries all over the world, eventually giving away over 60 million dollars to fund 1,689 public libraries.

In 1903, the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. was opened. It served as the flagship library for DC Library until they moved in the 1970s. During the dedication for the main library, Carnegie offered an additional 350,000 dollars to build and open additional branches across the city. The first neighborhood Carnegie library was Takoma Park Library opened in 1910. In June 1921, Congress authorized a library branch in Southeast DC.

The new library was dedicated on December 8, 1922. When it opened, the library had around 5000 volumes, in comparison to the 250,000 volumes at the Central Library. During its first two weeks of operation, circulation averaged 550 books per day. By 1971, the library had 57,610 volumes. The library has undergone extensive renovations in 1982, 2007, and 2021.

Sources

Stanberg, Susan. How Andrew Carnegie Turned His Fortune Into A Library Legacy, NPR. August 1st 2013. Accessed April 5th 2021. https://www.npr.org/2013/08/01/207272849/how-andrew-carnegie-turned-his-fortune-into-a-library-legacy.

Southeast Library History, DC Public Library. Accessed April 5th 2021. https://www.dclibrary.org/node/736.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

1. DC Library

2. Library of Congress