Carnegie Building (Syracuse, New York)

The Carnegie Building in Syracuse, New York, previously known as the Syracuse Public Library, is a historic Carnegie library on Montgomery Street at Jefferson Circle in downtown Syracuse. It was built by the City of Syracuse in 1905-06, and came into County of Onondaga ownership in 1976.^[2][3]

Carnegie Library
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Show map of New York Show map of the United States
Location	335 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, New York
Coordinates	43.04735°N 76.14909°W / 43.04735; -76.14909
Built	1902-05
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
Part of	Montgomery Street–Columbus Circle Historic District (ID80004278[1])
Designated CP	February 19, 1980

The building served as a library for 83 years and was the main library of the Syracuse Public Library system,^[4] which merged with Onondaga County's library system in 1976 to become the Onondaga County Public Library System.

As "Carnegie Library", it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the Montgomery Street–Columbus Circle Historic District in 1980.^[5]

Following acquisition and renovation by the Carnegie Redevelopment Corp., a local development corporation, the building was leased by the Syracuse city school district for 15 years, from 1996 - 2012 when the school district chose not to renew its lease option.^[2]

In 2019, after it had sat vacant for eight years, a proposal was floated to renovate it for $4.1 million to hold city and county planning and economic development offices and save on the city's rental costs.^[6] The plan was approved in 2021 and work began in 2022, but its current status is unknown as of July 2024.^[7]

See also

• Carnegie Library (Syracuse University), the other historic Carnegie library in Syracuse

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. Rick Moriarty (January 1, 2012). "Onondaga County looks for new use for historic Carnegie Library building in Syracuse". Syracuse.com.
3. "Historic Carnegie building in Syracuse". Syracuse.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
4. Goin, Glenn Coin (2013-12-10). "Onondaga County plans $3.4 million rehab of historic Carnegie library building". syracuse. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
5. Harden, Evamaria (June 8, 1979). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Montgomery Street–Columbus Circle Historic District. Retrieved 2023-02-23. Includes maps and 11 photos from 1979.
6. Tim Knauss (November 20, 2019). "Together again? Carnegie building could host Onondaga County, Syracuse departments". Syracuse.com.
7. Dean, Ryan (2022-10-10). "Your Stories Q&A: A new chapter for an old library in Syracuse". Retrieved 2024-07-31.