History:

The Brooklyn Branch, a Carnegie library building, has been in continuous use since 1919. Located in the historic Brooklyn Centre neighborhood and across from Riverside Cemetery, Brooklyn’s 5,900-square-foot facility is open to a culturally and ethnically diverse community.

As a supervising architect and building inspector for Cleveland Public Library, renowned architect and artist Ora Coltman drew plans and supervised the construction of three libraries, including Brooklyn Branch. This branch library is an example of a convertible-type building: it is constructed of plain brick, it is semi-fireproof, and it features factory-type sky lights. These features would allow the building to be leased for light industrial use in the event it was no longer used as a library branch. The facility was remodeled in 1985.