Price Hill, circa early 1900sSpecial Events
The Price Hill Branch celebrates a century of library service to the community this year! Library staff will mark the branch's 100th birthday at an Anniversary Open House on Saturday, November 28 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The day's activities include the unveiling of a Centennial Mural created by the branch's Teen Art Club, a visit from “Andrew Carnegie” (whose generosity funded the branch's construction a century ago), tours of the building, and a photographic tribute to the branch's history. Community members will be invited to add their own Library memories to the branch's scrapbook and to view the Price Hill Historical Society's Community Quilt on display especially for the celebration!
Branch History
Price Hill Branch todayThe Price Hill Branch, which opened its doors to the community on Saturday, November 27, 1909, is one of the nine area libraries in Hamilton County built with funds provided by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Notable features of the French Renaissance style brick and limestone building include a roof with tin deck and slate slopes, fleur-de-lis grid over the doors, bird head door handles, and cherry wood shelves. The branch quickly became an integral part of the Price Hill community, circulatiing 47,412 books and issuing 1,677 library cards to customers within its first eight months of operation. The Library's auditorium became a meeting place for community groups and venue for entertainment events.
Even in its early years, the Library's influence on the community extended beyond its red brick walls. Residents at the Good Shepherd Home for Girls, a local reformatory for women and girls, received regular book deliveries, and librarians kept the firehouse at the bottom of the hill stocked with a new batch of books and magazines each week. Today, the building still stands majestically atop the hill at the corner of Purcell and Warsaw Avenues and remains an important piece in the fabric of the Price Hill community.
