The Carnegie went on to serve valiantly for three decades, but by the early '60s change was afoot. When MacDonald, Magoon, and Hill designed it, Edmonton was home to 60,000. Since then the city had quintupled in size, and the building was being pushed well beyond its intended capacity and role. Compounding matters was Chief Librarian Morton Coburn. A modernist in every sense, he wanted “contemporary books, contemporary architecture, contemporary librarians, and a contemporary system.” In his mind the old Carnegie Library was an aging anachronism not fit for purpose.
With help from local philanthropist Stanley Milner, Corburn pursued a campaign to replace Edmonton’s acropolis, and in 1965 the City and Library Board agreed that the construction of a new central library would become its principal Centennial project. When the new Centennial Branch opened in 1967, the Carnegie’s death notice came. The jubilant spirits surrounding Canada’s hundredth birthday likely softened the blow. As historian Tony Cashman recalled, “I don’t remember anyone complaining at the time. People were quite excited about the new library in the square. It certainly wasn’t controversial.” Indeed, one Journal columnist summed up the thoughts of most when he opined that “the old place will be missed. It gave much reading pleasure to many and we acknowledge the debt. However, there is no denying that its facilities were overtaxed by a growing Edmonton, and we can all take pride in its handsome successor.”
The City awarded Poole Construction — the library’s builder forty-six years prior — the contract for the Carnegie’s destruction, and demolition commenced in August 1968. Work lasted nearly three months. It turns out the ol’ building was made of sterner stuff then most. “It was no pushover,” Art Evans eulogized:
“The process seemed painfully slow to passerby who had made good use of the library for many years and in doing so developed an affection for the building itself. When it comes time for old friends to go down, buildings or people, we prefer a quick ending. But the library lingered on as though reluctant to leave the scene without a struggle. It’s a relief the battle is over. One can now emerge from the Macdonald hotel and look across the street without wincing.”
Not holding my breath though. And, in its defense, it is lovely inside.
