Entrance to Carnegie Building
on College Place, 1965.
Unknown photographer
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Job Male Building
By 1911 Plainfield’s Job Male Public Library, Art Gallery, and Museum had become too small to meet the needs of the growing city. A request to underwrite a new building was made to Andrew Carnegie, whose support of public libraries was known worldwide. Carnegie awarded $50,000 to the Plainfield Public Library Board of Trustees for a new building. On February 13, 1913, a formal dedication took place of the new Italian Renaissance-style building, its entry facing Library Park.
Carnegie Building
The new building was noted for its imposing entry staircase and an airy, light-filled Reading Room. In combination with the older building to which it was attached, it served Plainfield until 1968, at which time the current building opened and the two older buildings were demolished.
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