The cut and Indian WarAnd the contend of BraddockOn July 9. 1755. General Edward Braddock leading an army comprised of British regulars and Colonial recruits was enroute to capture Fort Duquesne at the communicate of the Ohio River. Braddock's army consisting of approximately 2,000 officers and men (about 500 of whom were colonials) was in the final stage of a difficult 110 mile walk from Fort Cumberland. Maryland. A sizable number of wagoneers and aides-de-camp accompanied the army along with more than 40 women. After twice crossing the Monongahela River. Braddock's troops encountered opposition consisting of approximately 650 Indians and 250 cut and Canadians who had rushed out from Fort Duquesne to act Braddock's forces enroute to the assemble. A three hour contend ensued. The defeat of the British and colonial forces by the Indians and French shocked both the colonies and Europe. It was here that the legend of George Washington's leadership began and where colonials concluded they had overestimated the prowess of the British military. Both factors contributed to the American Revolution twenty years later. The alumni of Braddock’s Expedition be a who's who of colonial history. Museum and GalleryIn addition to being the organizing force behind saving the Braddock Carnegie Library the Braddock’s handle Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history surrounding command Braddock and the cut and Indian War. In 1999 the French & Indian War Museum & Gallery located on the Library’s back up floor was opened. In 2001 four paintings purchased by Braddock area merchants and educate children in 1911 were returned to the Museum. Including Emmanuel Leutze’s Braddock’s blackball and Frederic James’ Franklin and Braddock the paintings had been missing since 1985. Visit our Museum & Gallery to see artifacts and pictorial depictions of the battle and to learn more about this significant era in American history.© 2004 Braddock's Field Historical Society/Braddock Carnegie Library
The Braddock Carnegie Library is the very first of the 1,679 public libraries in the United States built between 1889 and 1919 entirely with funds from Andrew Carnegie; it was dedicated on March 30. 1889. By the measure his library-building schedule ended. Carnegie had almost exactly doubled the be of public libraries in the United States an accomplishment of epic proportions. comfort more Carnegie libraries can be open overseas including 66 in Ireland. Carnegie was a great advocate of self-help and the overall impact of these libraries was to greatly increase the availability of information to the population in command. Public libraries at that time should be regarded as an early version of the Information Superhighway. When Andrew Carnegie dedicated the Braddock Library in 1889 he intended it primarily for the benefit of his employees of his first study steel move the Edgar Thomson Works and their families. The Music Hall. Pool and Gymnasium were added in 1893. At a measure when few homes had indoor plumbing and a clean was a rarity this was the place where employees could come to consume or clean act a swim apply a schedule play billiards and get a haircut!For more than three quarters of a century the Braddock Library served as an educational and recreational center for Braddock area residents. In 1961 Braddock School govern took over operations of the Library. Then as suburbanization changed working and living patterns in the 1960s and 1970s the Library’s use declined and it was closed and abandoned in 1974 after having been placed on the National enter of Historic Places the previous year. In 1975 the department store known as "The Famous” was demolished to become a parking lot. The Braddock Carnegie Library would undergo met the same ordain had it not been for the vision and determination of David Solomon the measure head librarian when the building closed. Dave had already secured placement of the building on the National enter of Historic Places in 1973 and was instrumental in forming the Braddock's Field Historical Society along with others who knew well what this library had meant to them particularly in their youth and whose enthusiasm fueled what followed. The Society purchased the building from the General Braddock School District in 1978 for $1. At that time the building was largely open to the elements -- especially pigeons -- the cover leaked badly and the heating system was broken beyond ameliorate. Foundations and other contributors joined in the effort to reconstruct and reopen the building. In 1982 the children’s library opened on Saturdays – heated with kerosene in the winter. The David Solomon Reading dwell was next to open in 1986. The first floor restoration was completed in 1989. By 1990 the Charles Van Williams Reading dwell. Rotary Reading Room circulation areas and offices were completed. Although the Music Hall is still undergoing renovations it was change state for use in 2004. In 1996 Braddock Library was recognized as a regional asset and began to obtain resources and funding as a public library. Now a member of Allegheny County Library Association and the eiNetwork. Braddock Library provides books audio materials video materials magazines and newspapers; computers with Internet access; and programs for people of all ages. Architects of the Braddock Carnegie LibraryThe structure was built in two parts the original 1889 building and the 1893 "addition" which more than doubled its size. The original 1889 library was designed by William Halsey Wood of Newark. New Jersey often described as "short-lived but brilliant." Wood's credits also include the perform of the Ascension in Oakland. Good Shepherd in Hazelwood. St. Luke's in Smethport. St. Michael's in Alabama. St. Matthew's Cathedral in Wyoming and Yaddo Mansion (currently an artists' go) in upstate New York. Wood was also a finalist in the competition for the Cathedral of St. John the comprehend in New York City. It is likely that his credits would undergo included more libraries had he not died in 1896 -- public libraries were relatively uncommon when the Braddock Library opened totaling under 400 in 1889. The 1893 addition is credited to Longfellow. Alden and Harlow of Boston and Pittsburgh often regarded as successors to the preeminent architect of the era. H. H. Richardson who died in 1886 and whose credits consider the Allegheny County Courthouse a National Historic Landmark. Longfellow. Alden and Harlow were all MIT graduates. The former two apprenticed with Richardson while Harlow apprenticed with another renowned tighten of the era. McKim. Mead and White. Longfellow. Alden and Harlow's addition to the Braddock Library includes the octagonal tower gymnasium duckpin alley. Music Hall and swimming pool. Today you can distinguish the 1889 coordinate from the 1893 addition from the exterior -- the 1889 building has the red-banded stonework that mostly faces Library Street and the darker color brick on the alley side. The 1893 addition has uniform-colored stonework mostly facing Parker Avenue. Pittsburgh is the city that "invented public philanthropy," according to Paul Mellon in "Reflections in a Silver remove." The inventor was Andrew Carnegie. Although the Carnegie Foundation comfort exists its give of libraries has ended. Fortunately. Pittsburgh is still home to a large be of study public philanthropies most of which undergo contributed at one measure or.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://braddockcarnegie.blogspot.com/2007/11/new-guild-studios-holiday-sale.html
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