Since its inception, the building at 140 King St. appeared to be destined for a singular purpose: to store history.

Whether dealing with books, artifacts, the reputation of its founder or even its very architecture, the Carnegie Building is a place surrounded by the richness of years and events involving it.

It is steeped in it, like fine tea. If it had a taste, it would be Earl Grey.

The Carnegie Building is part of the legacy left by the famous Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who was known as an exceptional philanthropist. Built on a Carnegie Grant of $25,000 as part of a program to build free public libraries across the English-speaking world, the building was to be an upgrade from its old premises at the town hall.

The library had been previously housed in various other places, such as J.H. Burgar's 'Medical Hall' drugstore and the Rose Block, among others, but the 1913 offer allowed Welland to have a specifically dedicated space for the institution. The lack of a bylaw approving taxes for library maintenance initially held up proceedings, but eventually construction was completed in 1923 on a selected South Main Street lot (now King Street) by the firm of W.J. Hickey.

Opening to fanfare and general acclaim, the library thrived in its new location. The library's first multilingual collection began in the 1930s with Hungarian and French books contributed by a couple of priests at the library's request. Over time, a children's section was added, the reference department was expanded and in 1998 internet arrived.

Designed by Norman Kearns and composed of dark red brick with details in limestone, the single-storey building shares the Beaux-Arts Classical look attributed to many of the Carnegie libraries, it being a common style in France until the end of the 19th century.

The original front entrance, now a giant semicircular window under which the remains of steps can still be seen today, is flanked by two support columns with Ionic-styled capitals at the top. Above it, the inscription proclaiming it a Public Library, along with City of Welland's official crest, is chiselled into the stone.

The fiction section and meeting room were added to the north side of the building in 1961, and further additions of reference and audiovisual departments at the back took place in 1975.

Even before it became a museum, the library housed a number of eclectic historical exhibits: a collection of paintings by renowned artist Carl Schaefer, an exhibition of souvenirs giving a glimpse of life inside Soviet Russia, Chinese books, and a dress from the early 1900s all had their turns on display.

However, there were also setbacks along with the successes. During the '80s and '90s, theft was considered to be a major problem, starting with books and culminating with the library's flag. Barbed wire was placed along the rooftop, unfortunately, with little effect.

Ultimately, as the need for bigger, more advanced facilities made itself known, the search for a new building again took place. In 2005, the decision was made to move the public library into the new location at Welland Civic Square, and the old building was designated as historical by the city's heritage committee. It was passed to Welland Museum in 2006, and remains in its use to this day, with a few structural alterations.

To visit the building today is not only to see the past that it holds within, but also from without. An archive in and of itself, it is a lasting legacy in every sense.

All information is courtesy of Welland Museum and Welland Public Library.

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Correction

In the June 29 edition of the Welland Tribune, a photo was misidentified in the Then and Now column. It should have read "The first version of the standalone Welland General Hospital building, built independently in 1908 on land given by the Rose and Morwood Estates."

