Andrew Carnegie
At the turn of the 20th century, Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-born industrialist who rose from poverty to become one of America’s wealthiest men, turned his fortune toward a vision to make knowledge and education accessible to everyone.
Carnegie wrote that the rich should act as stewards of their fortune to improve society. For him, the most powerful way to do this was through free public libraries. These would be places where anyone could educate themselves and better their lives.
Between 1883 and 1928, Carnegie funded the construction of over 2,500 libraries across the world. While visiting CO, in October 2025, I saw the sign for Carnegie Library in Boulder.
This library was built in 1905 with a $15,000 grant from Carnegie. He never lived in Boulder, nor had any particular tie to this city. Boulder was a young city at this time and pledged to support and maintain the library as part of the agreement with Carnegie.
Today, this building serves as Boulder’s Local History Library, a keeper of photographs and memories of the town’s early years. It is also a reminder that generosity leaves footprints.
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