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# Cincinnati's Public Library of 1874 was demolished in 1955 and replaced by a parking structure
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/glavnaia-publichnaia-biblioteka-tsintsinnati-kogda-to-schitalas-samoi-krasivoi-bibliotekoi-ameriki/
- Published: 2020-05-21T08:00:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:05:55.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Architecture, Books, Heritage

The Main Public Library of Cincinnati was once considered the most beautiful library in America. Behind an unremarkable façade lay a modest building with an interior of extraordinary workmanship by the architect McLaughlin. The heart of the library was a four-storey atrium with five levels of cast-iron book alcoves. The ceiling was lit by a glass skylight, and the marble floor was laid out like a chessboard. The construction of this modern building, with central heating and a lift, cost almost $400,000 in 1874, which by our standards is about 7 million. But in 1955 the library was demolished. Today a multi-storey car park stands in its place. Many rack their brains over how the Midwest came to lose its architectural pearl. The official version holds that the building was in poor condition, had become a fire hazard and was simply unprofitable. The city historian Fleischman, however, traces the onset of the crisis to the Great Depression, when the library's trustee took out a loan of $180,000 for repairs and running costs, and there proved to be no way out of it