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In case you're wondering, here is a video walking you through the entire Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, DC. Is it worth the visit? You decide and let us know in the comments!
In our mind, it is definitely worth a quick visit as the building is an architectural delight and has been renovated into a multi-use property tying in a modern Apple Store, the DC History Center, and a Carnegie Gallery detailing the history of the building. There is no charge for access to any of the areas, so if you are close, stop by to check it out
Chapters:
0:00 - Quick Preview
0:17 - Location
0:28 - Quick History
1:07 - Motto - University for the People
1:28 - A multi-use Building - Apple Store, Carnegie Gallery, and DC History Center
1:47 - Building Origin Story, History, and Design
4:10 - Flagship Apple Store
5:59 - Carnegie Gallery
7:45 - DC History Center
8:38 - North Gallery - DC Hall of History
12:23 - West Gallery - The Big Picture Exhibit
15:30 - Kiplinger Research Library
16:15 - Carnegie Gallery Pictures
18:32 - DC Hall of History Pictures
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The Carnegie Library of Washington D.C. is located in Mount Vernon Square in Washington, DC. It is on K street between 7th and 9th Ave. It was known as the Central Public Library, but was renovated by Apple and Events DC starting in 2016 and reopened in 2019 as the Apple Carnegie Library.
Although the history of the building is somewhat tumultuous, shut down, renovated, and reopened numerous times over more than a century; it has managed to remain true to its original mission, to be a “University for the People”; A motto that is inscribed on the benches in front of the building.
Today, it hosts a flagship Apple Store which host educational events on technology, photography, filmmaking, music creation, coding, design and more; the Carnegie Gallery; and the DC History Center.
The origin of the building was actually a fortunate chance meeting between Brainard Warner who bumped into Andrew Carnegie in the White House anteroom in 1899. Warner was the president of library trustees at the time took the opportunity to ask Carnegie for a library building in Washington DC. Carnegie agreed to donate $250,000 (written on the back of an envelope) towards its construction. It was opened in 1903 and DC being a segregated city at the time, the Carnegie Library opened as DCs first desegregated public building serving everyone equally regardless of race.
As one can see, the Carnegie Library is a masterpiece of design and architectural ornateness. The design was created by the New York firm, Ackerman & Ross; who won out of 24 competing designs submitted in a contest held by The Washington Public Library Commission.
Ross’s design was inspired by his training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and while the library looks like many of the buildings in Washington, DC today (with its symmetry, sculptural decorations, flat roof, archways, pediments, and columns), it was actually one of the first buildings in DC to use this design. The ornate facade and sculptures most likely required special artisans to construct the building.
As soon as it was opened, the Carnegie Library was actually too small for the 382,352 volumes it needed to manage. It was also an outdated layout, with many “closed stacks” where librarians would have to retrieve books for customers despite an area of “open shelves” for public access. It managed to operate as the central public library for Washington, D.C. for almost 70 years before it was replaced by the nearby Martin Luther King Jr. building.
Today, the building currently consists of three main areas. An Apple Store, the Carnegie Gallery, and the DC History Center.
