James MilkeyJan 7, 2023
Ryan Schultz
I wanted to share this truly wonderful photo of the old public library of Cincinnati, there’s many more in this article: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/remembering-queen-citys-temple-books/. It has a sort of steampunk vibe to it, don’t you think? (I did a reverse image search on Google because I kept seeing this image pop up, and I wanted to learn more about where this place was!) #Libraries @libraries #History #Cincinnati
Remembering the Queen City’s Temple of Books - Cincinnati Magazine

The old main library was like a Hollywood conception of what a library should look like.

Cincinnati Magazine
Jan 6, 2023 at 8:33pmToot!
Show threadJ. Scott Coatsworth, AuthorJan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries Oooh that's amazing.
Show threadLAURENJan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries
I love this for the scale. Thank you for sharing.
Show threadRyan SchultzJan 6, 2023
@noondlyt @libraries You’re welcome! Yes, I find the sense of scale in this photo amazing!
Show threadDrew KadelJan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries I worked in a library that had cast iron stacks erected in a large chamber (5 levels=4 floors of the building), with glass walkways suspended from the cast iron frame. Built in 1908 -- DEFINITELY SteamPunk.
Show threadCarla G-S @ worldkey.ioJan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries Here’s more information about it from our local NPR station: https://www.wvxu.org/podcast/oki-wanna-know/2022-06-15/oki-wanna-know-what-happened-old-cincinnati-library
OKI Wanna Know: What happened to the old Cincinnati library?

An old jaw-dropping photograph goes viral periodically, raising questions about preservation and practicality.

WVXU
Show threadRyan SchultzJan 6, 2023
@RadioCarla @libraries Awesome, thank you! 😃
Show threadCarla G-S @ worldkey.ioJan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries The current main library was featured in Emilio Estevez’s movie “The Public” - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3294746/?ref_=nm_flmg_i_2_act
Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Held (2018) - IMDb

Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Held: Directed by Emilio Estevez. With Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Emilio Estevez, Jena Malone. An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.

IMDb
Show threadFanua 🌐Jan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries My type of library, love it.
Show threadOfficially Jessica!Jan 6, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries love it. Those style of libraries are so cool. This is one of the older libraries at Cornell. Sadly the engineering library was predictably boring and drab by comparison.
Show threadthe roamerJan 7, 2023

@jessica @ryanschultz @libraries

Fantastic! So good that this marvel of library design is being maintained.

Show threadDawn Tåke 🏳️‍⚧️Jan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries
OSHA senses tingling!

THIS imust be why they made me take a safety thing on scaffolding.

Show threadthe roamerJan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries

Wow. Could be a scene in an early Fritz Lang film.

Oozes "infinity", both in its content of seemingly endless bookshelves and in its visual presentation with its dominant verticals.

Nothing hexagonal here, but otherwise the photograph also makes me look for my copy of Borges's Library of Babel.

Thanks for posting. Also lots of fascinating extra insights in the comments, great thread!

#library #infinity #verticals #bookstodon #vertigo

Show threadMatildaJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries @cakrolik Look at that magnificence!
Show threadFoxArtistJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz
Le sign...
Show threadSAPhillipsJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries Spectacular!! Love these books!
Show thread(mapcar #'emacsomancer objs)Jan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries

There are a lot of fantastic photos there indeed. Just a couple more:

Show threadtend2wobbleJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries A lot of them ended up here at the original Acres of Books in Cinci. Was a regular customer there in the 70s and the basement looked A LOT like your photo but without the double stacks and ladders. Great Saturday afternoons.
Show threadPaul KemnerJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries
It was a wealthy city because of the traffic on the Ohio river.
Show threadLynneJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries just wow! Imagine working there!
Show thread1KevinRJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries wow! Not a fan , at all, but it does have that Harry Potter vibe, too!
Show threadmyrmepropagandistJan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz

https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/06/17/seriously-though-how-did-the-most-beautiful-library-in-america-get-demolished/

Seriously Though, How Did the Most Beautiful Library in America Get Demolished?

The old  Public library of Cincinnati was the sort of place you only see in a Harry Potter film; colossal cast-iron book alcoves and spiral staircases that went several stories high, checker board marble floors that shone beneath the skylight roof; a magnificent maze of books that is now lost forever.  In 1955, without a whimper, the building was demolished when…

Messy Nessy Chic
Show threadRyan SchultzJan 7, 2023
@futurebird Thanks!
Show threadmetaphernparkJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries
A rare photograph of George researching the construction of his time machine because monumental projects certainly need a monumental material base ;-)
Show threadNebbyBeulahJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries
Steam punk vibe? Yes. IMO it’s the wrought iron balcony that lends a Victorian air. The railing looks awfully low, doesn’t it?
Show threadPaul PeaceJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries steampunk - agreed!
Show threadPawel Siwczak پفلJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries It's an amazing picture, and looks like a wonderful place in which you could find all sorts of treasures. Though the narrow balconies and low barriers make me feel dizzy even looking at the photograph 🙃
Show threadMikeKJan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries

How Google really works.

Show threadPatrickJan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries

And of COURSE a parking ramp now stands in its place.

Show threadRumispriteJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries
Show threadJoão PinheiroJan 7, 2023
@ryanschultz Absolutely lovely! @isabel
Show threadMichael GemarJan 7, 2023

@ryanschultz @libraries @PTR_K Lovely!

One of my favourite library interiors is the Peabody in Baltimore:

https://www.shutterbug.com/images/photo_post/103810/_MG_4041.JPG

Show threadTracy QJan 8, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries very cool.
Show threadNancy Craighead 🏳️‍🌈Jan 8, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries @adamjcook Wow. Those are some stacks!
Show threadZeNeece 🦄🏎️Jan 10, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries OMG, Am.. Am I .. In HEAVEN????
Show threadLilly HunterJan 19, 2023
@ryanschultz @libraries Great place to commit a murder!