Still Standing

The original Carnegie Library, now the McNichols Building

Most big cities have demolished their original Carnegie libraries.  It’s disappointing but I don’t really hold it against them (well, maybe just a little bit).  Carnegie libraries were built a century, or more, ago when cities were small, children were seen and not heard, computers didn’t exist and air conditioning had just been invented (in Buffalo!).  Most cities rapidly outgrew their libraries and opted to construct new facilities that would better serve their patrons and be more efficient than attempting to remodel a relic.

Denver is on their third library incarnation and has managed not to demolish a brick or column of their original libraries.  The new library is actually an addition (see Postmodernists Have More Fun) to the 1956 library that replaced (at a different address) the 1910 Carnegie Library.  Amazingly, the Carnegie Library still stands proudly, albeit a little worse for wear,  as the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park.

To get a better picture of what happened over the last 100 years, I headed to The Civic Center Conservancy website for a little background.  In the late 1800s, ‘Civic Center’ was designed to be the cultural and civic center of Denver.  The 12 acre park is now the home to the Colorado State Capital, the original Carnegie Library, Greek Theater (an open air theater), Pioneer Monument, Voorhies Memorial, Denver City and County Building, The New Central Library, Denver Art Museum, Webb Municipal Building and a handful of historic statues and monuments.  The area is the heart of the city and the “crossroads of government, culture, commerce and community” The Conservancy was founded by private citizens in 2004 to restore and protect this architectural landscape.  

100 years ago, in 1909, the Carnegie Library was  the second building constructed at the the park, it was critical to the design and concept of Civic Center and became a reality thanks to a $200,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie.  When the new library eventually replaced it in 1956, on the other side of Civic Center, the Carnegie Library was left standing and office space was carved out of the space for the Water Board (the city probably wasn’t too excited about creating a gaping hole in the middle of their historic campus).  Emily Haggstrom retells this dismal period in the library’s history in her detailed article, A History of the McNichols Building.  Aftern being jerryrigged for awkward offices, this beautiful building actually sat abandoned and molding for decades until 2010 when it was finally restored to civic use for the ‘Denver Biennial of the Americas’. The Biennial is a month long celebration of art, culture and ideas from North, South and Central Americas. Since the event the building is slowly being renovated to create a permanent cultural center and event facility for Civic Center.

One more question from the East Coast girl...who was McNichols?  
That was an easy one to figure out.  Stephen L.R. McNichols was the 35th Governor of Colorado and served from 1957-1963.  McNichol’s roller coaster career included his support for reform at the State Hospital and Penitentiary, increased public works projects (including highway and water development plans) and the development of the Colorado State Archives.  
Honestly, I’m glad that it wasn’t Carnegie’s name on the abandoned, boarded up building during all those years of neglect.  That would have been a slap in the face to someone who offered so much light and hope to our country.  I’m equally relieved that The McNichols Building seems to be on the road to recovery and redefinition - it is a great example of respect and recycling for all our cities.