WPLN News Archive; East Library (Anita) 4 28 00; News Archive 3/30/00-5/22/00

by the time he died steel magnate andrew carnegie had given away more than three hundred fifty million dollars the foundations and charities to build playgrounds and to build his beloved free libraries all carnegie issue grants for more than sixteen hundred libraries across america in cities big and small there were four carnegie libraries the main library in the end the three branches which were east and north in the negro pretty huge carol kaplan is a librarian in the nashville room at the downtown library he believed that he didn't appreciate what you can pay for to so while he would build a building he would set up a fund to maintain its for you did some libraries it was a big deal about whether we want to commit to this a lot of cities wouldn't have a hard time getting him to be there in nashville and its councilman that there's this great quantity since it there's a reason why every never been a logger in his deepest but the city did commit

last carnegie library to open was in east nashville the city's for supper with a twenty five thousand dollars grant from carnegie the city built limestone structure on a little triangular lot where main street becomes galton road for seawater donated the land is too one are laid out there mr schwab who was a partner with george dickel are lots of wealthy people had their summer homes cornelia for its powder portland was out there so these folks one of the library for their community and mr warner well the trolley company i have to try one out that far and turned around so he gave them land right they are compared to the other carnegie libraries east is elegant yet lacking the decorative nature of the north remain branch could be a variety of reasons for that east nashville or just been through the great fire flood and a tornado the library started been delayed by world war one in fact when east opened it had no budget for books the community response to buy books and donated books from home libraries early records show

that often there was a book to be found on the shelf everything would be checked out as soon as it was turned in my band leader and every week and yelling at me and i'd be back in the nineteen thirties about born in nineteen twenty and ruth brown grew up a regular in east library where she says the building was divided into a children's section in an adult section we're children we're well the library they'd been living and they are a bit about it came in the locker and it would recommend your book and you got one there and have made me put book that really catches a rick perry out youre not automatically take that back but by the nineteen sixties times were changing and there was a push to modernize the network argued branch had already been raised for hadley park and the downturn kind he was replaced with a new

bin west library carol kaplan nobody seem to think that we i keep and i think it's very interesting i don't think there was any sentiment in the early sixties for keeping an honorary are using it or getting it or anything nobody said a word now of course people would say things but nobody said a thing we were also thrilled to get a new building across the country carnegie libraries were meeting the same fate today only had remained in operation as libraries in nashville north country remained relatively unscathed but he became caught up in the desire for a more modern look the original four was torn out the fourteen foot ceilings lowered to tan and aluminum railings are installed that began on a hill became a cramped dark specks it looked like some eyes to stepchild i think the unloved because somebody and they can leave room and lowered the ceiling forty four inches and as the malian visit the

assyrians does want this place and architect william gilchrist jumped at the chance to bring the old building to life gilchrist his workers clear out the limit ceiling and repair the regional plaster molding library workers searched the system to find the original oak tables for the reading room the tennessee marble that edges the walls has been repaired and they put down a cork floor similar to the one that was born out of the nineteen sixties andrew carnegie died in nineteen nineteen the year east library opened a branch will celebrate its grand reopening sunday at two thirty for national public radio i'm any device