Written by Maggie Forbes
As I wrote in this column on May 21, the Library & Music Hall is embarking on the last leg of transforming its facility from rundown to remarkable – we are completing the Carnegie Carnegie.
What began with men in hazmat suits remediating asbestos in late 2004 soon morphed into scaffolding around the building. Nothing signals progress more than scaffolding and heavy construction equipment! Patrons and staff have worked through strategic disruptions as engaged eyewitnesses to the Library & Music Hall’s incredible journey.
No part of the restoration and revitalization of our 35,000 square-foot facility has generated as much enthusiasm as Library Park. I attribute its popularity to several factors:
l The Park’s outdoor visibility.
l Community members contributed to its design in a 2016 charrette led by landscape architects La Quatra Bonci. Participants wanted to make the grounds welcoming and accessible while balancing preserving the defining character of sweeping lawns and mature trees.
l More than 200 people participated in the fabrication (14 workshops, plus several days for installation) of the mosaic mural designed by ceramic artist Laura Jean McLaughlin. Volunteer artisans (from age 3 to 80) cited creating public art that will last for generations as their impetus for participation.
Improved parking was part of The Design Alliance’s master plan that has guided us since 2002. However, the Library & Music Hall’s newfound vibrancy, environmental mindfulness and the burgeoning restaurant and retail scene in Carnegie’s central business district inspired the more ambitious Library Park.
Phase I of Library Park, from the grounds back to the building, began in 2017. It included new sidewalks and a driveway with clearly delineated parking places and handicapped spots that meet code; lampposts in the parking area; benches around the building; a stately flagpole across from the Library entrance, landscaping, and a piazza in front of the Music Hall.
I thought of it as “infrastructure,” but Phase I created a brand new sense of place for the Library & Music Hall. We could hardly wait for what Library Park itself would bring.
Readers of the Signal Item know that we have been waiting since a February 2018 mudslide derailed the project. It took 10 months and nearly $200,000 to remediate the problem. The grounds are stable. But, Library Park was stalled.
A $1.25 million state grant for “Completing the Carnegie Carnegie” has us back on track! Construction is underway, with November 2021 targeted as our end date. Our grand opening celebration will wait for spring.
A reminder: Library Park will convert the ACFL&MH’s steep grounds from a physical and visual barrier to an inviting green space that will connect our facility with Main Street below. The grand entrance at the foot of the hill echoes the Library & Music Hall’s stately architecture, while a tasteful marquee announces ACFL&MH performances and programs.
A serpentine walkway, interspersed with benches and illuminated by soft bollard lighting, will become a pathway to participation, leading visitors to the overlook across from the Music Hall entrance.
Landscaping will improve sightlines while adding native plants – including flowering trees and shrubs – that will be pollinator-friendly. How fitting that Mayor Stacie Riley recently signed the pledge to help save the monarch butterfly and other threatened pollinators.
I imagine Library Park’s entrance becoming a community meeting place, like the steps in front of the iconic 42nd Street branch of the New York Public Library (watched over by lions Patience and Fortitude). I picture kids running through the grass and “wall-walking” the mosaics; people strolling up the walkway to a Music Hall performance after dinner on Main Street; a musician practicing chords under a tree and strangers becoming acquaintances as they share a Library Park bench.
I envision Carnegie as one of Allegheny County’s most attractive destination communities, with the Carnegie Carnegie at its heart.
Maggie Forbes is the executive director of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall.