Middlesbrough library opened on the 8th May 1912 by Amos Hinton, so its just celebrated its centenary.
Inside there are two large brass plates from its opening (now hidden behind plastic)
The first records that the building was a gift (of £15,000) from Andrew Carnegie a leading American steel maker who spent much of his fortune establishing over 3000 libraries. The land was donated by Sir Hugh Bell and Amos Hinton
Monetary donations came from the major industrialists such as Samuelson and Co, Bolckow and Vaughan, Dorman Long and Gjers Mills.
The second records the foundation stones being laid by Walter G Roberts and Mayor Thomas Gibson Poole on 2nd May 1910 and the opening two years later.
Middlesbrough Library
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This is the same Andrew Carnegie, famed for building Carnegie Hall, New York.
A little known fact that we have our own Carnegie Hall !!
This is the best library i have ever been in, the old wooden stairscase and gallery is fantastic and all the wooden cases is just fantastic. I hope it never shuts, the building is beautiful
The Carnegie Foundation funded the opening of the library in Nairobi in 1931.