Built in 1901-03 as the Carnegie Public Library on the site of the former municipal market, at what was then Vancouver’s prime intersection, the building has heritage value as Vancouver’s representative of the approximately 2,500 libraries throughout the English-speaking world (125 in Canada) built with a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, which had been established by American industrial magnate Andrew Carnegie.
Carnegie wanted to extend cultural and educational opportunity to all people, particularly to poor immigrants. The “Carnegie Formula”, by which Carnegie paid capital costs and municipalities were responsible for ongoing operation, was part of a broader belief that educational opportunities should be accessible to all.
I, and many others, have availed ourselves of Mr. Carnegies generous philanthropy.
I used to live next door to the building which was turned into a comunity center.
It was a grand building
It still is