The latest target was a visit to all of the remaining Carnegie Libraries in Minneapolis/St. Paul. From 1906-1914, 8 libraries in the Twin Cities were built with grants from the Andrew Carnegie Corporation. One (Central Avenue) was demolished in the 1970's. Another no longer functions as a public library (Arlington Hills).
In Minnesota, 65 Carnegie Libraries were constructed between 1901-1918, 48 still stand with 25 still operating as a public library.
Twin Cities' Carnegie Libraries
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| Sumner Library - North Mpls |
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| Franklin Library - Midtown Mpls |
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| Hosmer Library (under renovation) - South Mpls |
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| St. Anthony Library - St Paul |
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| Giddens Library - Hamline University |
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| Arlington Hills (now a Hmong Center) - St. Paul |
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| Riverview Library - St. Paul |
The libraries were all constructed with a similar rectangular design. Most have had renovations/additions over the years but like a Frank Lloyd Wright design, they are all recognizable as "Carnegies".
Andrew Carnegie was the first noted "Captain of Industry" to espouse the doctrine that the wealthy have a moral obligation to give away their fortunes, a practice being adopted by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates (see: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth). At the age of 66, he dedicated his life to giving away his wealth. From 1901 to his death in 1919, Carnegie gave away $350,000,000, roughly of $5B in today's dollars and 90% of his wealth. His philanthropy particularly targeted education, funding that included some 3000 public libraries world-wide. Pittsburgh's Carnegie-Mellon University bears his name. And of course, the arts. You might have heard of Carnegie Hall.
Andrew Carnegie's empire was based on steel, Carnegie Steel being the forerunner of US Steel, operating under his lead from the 1870s to 1901, when he sold the operation to J.P. Morgan for $492M (roughly $15B in today's dollars). He introduced modern approaches to steel production - vertical integration of raw material to end products, open hearth furnaces, ... developing processes that made steel strong enough for skyscrapers and weapons. The sale made Carnegie one of the richest men to have ever lived. However, before his philanthropy epiphany, he was a ruthless businessman, putting down strikers (see Homestead Strike) and exploiting his immigrant workforce and destroying his competitors. He was clearly a member "Robber Barons", a term coined during the Gilded Age to both disparage and admire the fabulously wealthy. "Baron" is a title of nobility, as in a MP of the House of Lords. "Robber" casts aspersion as to how the fabulous wealth was acquired. Exploitation of the working class, government subsidies and tax preferences, price fixing, monopolies, suppression of competition and labor unions were the soft commodities of wealth, generously enhancing the profit from the hard commodities: oil, steel, coal, railroads and finance.
Note: John D. Rockefeller (oil), J.P. Morgan (finance), James J. Hill (railroads), Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads/shipping).... and Andrew Carnegie (steel) are the most famous of the group.
When the wealthy are asked "how much is enough?", commonly it is .. "just a little bit more". But Carnegie is remembered as a philanthropist. I suspect many have no idea how he made his money. Today's disparities between wealthy and the average Joe exceed even the Robber Baron era (see Forbes: 3 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 50%).
Would that Andrew Carnegie's epiphany replicate to today.
Copyright © 2019 Dave Hoplin
Addendum: Not Twin Cities but another of the 25 operating Minnesota Carnegie Libraries.
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| Glenwood, Minnesota Library |
Well said. I feel conflicted when I see those libraries. My mother, like Carnegie, was a Scot. She did not have much time for Carnegie, believing he built his wealth on the backs of his workers.
ReplyDeleteI believe the library on the hill overlooking downtown Northfield is a Carnegie.
ReplyDeleteCorrect. There were 66 Carnegie's in MN. 48 remain but only 25 still house a public library.
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