ABOUT
THE CARNEGIE CENTER
At the close of the 19th century, American industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, identified libraries as the most important community asset and made them the primary focus for the dispersal of his vast fortune. Arizona was able to secure Carnegie support for libraries in Prescott, Tucson, Yuma and Phoenix.
From it’s opening in 1908 until 1954 this building served as the Phoenix Public Library. After 1954 the building served as a recreation hall, social services center, storage facility and way station for the homeless. In 1984 the building was renovated at a cost of $1.3 million dollars, but was closed in winter of 2001 due to safety concerns.
A private/public funding partnership returned the building to its role as a multi-service facility and the Carnegie Center re-opened on March 3, 2003, to serve workers and residents in downtown Phoenix and the eastern Capitol Mall. The move of library resources to the eastern segment of the Jefferson/Washington corridor addresses the needs of state agencies as they move in that direction. All of the electronic resources, including subscription databases that are searchable from the Capitol can also be accessed from the Carnegie Center.
In December 2005, the Carnegie Center was transferred to the Library Development Division for management and coordination.
Updated: 03/16/2006
