Carnegie Library of Homestead
The Carnegie Library of Homestead, Pennsylvania is a public library founded by Industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896, third one built in the USA and the second given to Steel Valley. This library would serve the workers and families of the nearby Homestead Steel Works as a way to make amends after a deadly battle broke out during the Homestead Strike of 1892 which pitted union workers against private security agents from the Pinkerton company. The building was designed by Pittsburgh architects Frank Alden and Alfred Harlow and constructed by William Miller and Sons with a price tag of $300,000. It not only contained a library holding over 34,000 volumes but also contains a 1,000-seat music hall and an athletic wing with a heated indoor swimming pool. In early years, the library held class for immigrants preparing for naturalization, and later for women entering the work force. In the 1900s, the library’s football team was composed of many former star Ivy League players and was con