Remembering the Old Main Library of Cincinnati

In honor of our 160th Anniversary celebration, we interviewed former shelver Ray Richardson (1954-1955) about his brief time working inside the Old Main Library before the current Main Library opened in 1955.

[@adamz0037]

This guy looks amazing for his age. Dude worked in a library that was demolished in 1955 and looks like he is 70...

[@Maxx134a]

He is a liar. There's no way he would been working there as a little kid. He had to be older to be up thise stairs with glass so we talking at least 25 yrs before 1955, which would have make him at least 98yrs old today. F*Kn liar!😮

[@Maxx134a]

He is a liar because he would have to be at least 98yrs old today. Why is he lying? Im pretty sure there is a cover up going on. We talking about thousands of books going into the 1800s because none were new that you can see in old photos. No way you would find them today.

[@shoenicedeletedvideosx2973]

This library should have been named an UNESCO World Heritage site......

[@Daehawk]

Id love to go back and spend a week there.

[@Emppu_T.]

There is beauty to be found in inefficiency.

[@mauigio]

Beautiful!!

[@samthemultimediaman]

figures they tore down an architectural masterpiece to build a huge block of horse shit! all the people responsible for the disrepair and demolition of a building like this should have been rounded up and put in a Kirkbride asylum!!

[@goopah]

Totally agree. That old building was steeped in style and atmosphere that fostered the actual desire to read for pure pleasure. Finding the right book was an adventure in itself. Now, libraries are utilitarian in design, and people generally only read if they have to. Most people get no pleasure from reading these days, in part because there are few pleasurable places conducive to reading. A shame. I guess I can take some comfort in knowing I have my own small library (one room lined with shelves full of books and a single wing-back chair in the center) at home. [And yet, here I am in my living room, watching a video on my computer.]

[@Emppu_T.]

@@goopah almost like they want learning to be tedious

[@yudisandika4739]

i am yudi .. my dad has a medayu agung library . in the country of indonesia

[@PixieVonTramp]

Wow! The new library is crap in comparison to the old one, shame city fathers shame!

[@dennishanseman8910]

Did you listen to this video? The Old Main was not designed as a library and book retrieval was very difficult. Also, what makes you think that "city fathers" made the decision to build a new library? Real estate decisions -- for the most part -- are not made at City Hall. Get your facts straight!

[@suneyeintuition4315]

It's very beautiful, but it was supposed to be an opera house. The funding for that fell through, and it ended up a library. Yes, it's gorgeous, but incredibly unsafe! I suppose someone could have done a major renovation - made it safer and improved ventilation (which was a huge problem, having been completed way back in 1874), but it probably wasn't cost effective at all. Not to mention, in 1874, no one had cars. By the 1950s, where was everyone supposed to park when they visited the library? That was probably a huge issue too.

[@AdonnaB1]

Were all the books transfered to the New Library?

[@erikh9991]

It's the new wave, all self service no customer service.

[@timdaugherty706]

Where is this building now?

[@AlchemyAtLarge]

Probably a bit of a late reply, but unfortunately this building was demolished to make way for the new library which is rubbish in comparison

[@milo066]

The Main (old) Library has occupied a prominent position in downtown Cincinnati since 1874, when a new building was constructed on the west side of Vine Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets. Labeled the most magnificent public library building in the country, the library featured one element similar to today’s library: a towering atrium with a skylight ceiling. The Library occupied this site until 1955, when the Library opened the first post-war main library building in the U.S. Located at the corner of Eighth and Vine Streets, the building was designed by noted Cincinnati architect Woodie Garber and was widely recognized for its contemporary design and use of open space. The 1955 building, dedicated to Hamilton County residents who were killed in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, today serves as the cornerstone of the present Main Library complex.

[@leen5808]

قهررر ليش يهدمونهاااا؟! حسافه