Memories of Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall

Gene McGrevin Discovers his Library

I discovered the Carnegie Library in 1950 when I was 7 years old.  I was born and raised in Glendale about a 3 mile walk to the Library.  One day two of my friends and I decided to explore Carnegie and set out on long walk from our homes.  I remember that we played on a train trestle and crossed Chartiers Creek and found a wonderful building on top of a hill.  It was the first Library that I ever entered and I was instantly captivated by the building, the books and most importantly the Civil war collection on the second floor.  I continued to visit the Library several times before I moved to Whitehall, when I was in the 9th grade.

I returned with my high school sweetheart, Carol Zord, to show her the Library that captivated me.  I guess she was impressed with my intellect.....we have been married for 43 years.

In 2007, Carol and I were having dinner at Papa J's and I offered to buy some wonderful people a drink after dinner because they had such a great time throughout the evening.  This is how I was introduced to former ACFL&MH Trustee Betsy Martin.  I told her of the impact the Carnegie Library had on me and gave her my business card.  The next day I received a call from Maggie Forbes and on our way to the airport to return to our home in Atlanta, Georgia, we stopped and met Maggie.  We were re-introduced to the Carnegie Carnegie as only Maggie can do!

What a tremendous improvement to the facility and the extensive artistic programs that are available to people in Pittsburgh.  The new Carnegie Carnegie brought back great boyhood memories of a 7-year-old exploring a beautiful building on a hill far from his home.