Carnegie Hall, AAMU
Mark Austin, Fall, 2024
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Maps Data ©2024 Google |
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Postcard Photograph of Carnegie Library1960s |
Google Maps Picture of the Alabama A&M University Research Institute2007 |
Picture of Carnegie Hall2024 |
Around thirty-one years after the opening of the Huntsville State Normal School for Negroes, now Alabama A&M University since June of 1969, the Carnegie Library was constructed under its first president: the late Dr. William Hooper Councill. It was funded with $12,000 in a grant from Andrew Carnegie and is one of the 1,787 libraries he commissioned across the United States between 1886 and 1919. These libraries were established in small communities and on university campuses alike, much like the one featured in this postcard. From a young age, Carnegie was inspired to provide free-access libraries due to being unable to afford a library subscription fee. After the meteoric rise of his Carnegie Steel Company, he sought to make amends for the previous Homestead Strike and Johnstown Flood through philanthropy while also making good on his desire to make accessible public libraries. Thus, the Carnegie Library was constructed as one of the 108 academic libraries established across universities nationwide, with Alabama A&M University being one of the few HBCUs to receive one.
In 1905, shortly after the Library’s construction, it burned down, being rebuilt in 1906. Completed, the library consisted of two floors; housing the post office, farm and home demonstration agency, business office, the president’s office on the first floor, and the library on the second. Over the ensuing years, it would amass over 12,000 volumes, necessitating a remodeling in the 1940s, costing around $70,000. This remodeling implemented more shelves and reading rooms.
The first picture is the accompanying photo from a postcard taken by Dean Evans and is in color. Though the exact date it was captured is unknown, it was taken during the Chrome era of postcards (1939-present), as indicated by the card's chrome surface, text font, and Clark logo. Furthermore, the Alabama Department of Archives & History records it as being taken between 1960 and 1969. Featured prominently in the center of the image is the Library itself, along with a group of individuals who are presumably students, teachers, or staff members. The building has a brick exterior, an overhead section supported by four columns, and a golden plaque inscribed with "Carnegie Library" affixed to the structure. There are 34 windows combined on the front, left, and right sides of the building, and visible pipework is present on the left wall. The lawn shows at least one tree on the right, barely visible in the photo, with shadows of nearby trees cast on the left side of the building. The grass near the sidewalk is cut short, while the grass closer to the Library's entrance stands slightly taller, accompanied by a few bushes lining the perimeter. A green trash bin is located to the left of the stairs leading to the front door.
In 1968, likely after Evans photographed the Library, it was renovated after the construction of the J. F. Drake Memorial Library, becoming the Carnegie Hall. It would receive more space for classrooms and would become the temporary location of the Music Education Department, though the department would later be relocated to the Morrison Fine Arts Building. In time, it would come to host the University’s research facilities and programs, and more administrative offices.
A Google Maps screenshot of the building taken in 2007 shows that the site had changed by that time. Trees line the grass between the sidewalk and the curb. A stone sign on the right side of the building reads "AAMURI" along with the University's symbol. Above the pillars, "AAMU Research Institute" is spelled out in red letters. Only the bushes near the left side of the building remain. A power line directly connects to the left side of the building above the first-floor window and below the second-floor window, and rails have been added on the left side of the building, lining the sidewalk. The trash bin has been replaced with a new green one that has wheels, and the front doors have been painted white. The previously visible pipework is gone, replaced by a light near the power line. These changes clearly mark a change in the purpose of the building, denoting its shift from its mostly literary services to its research and administrative focus.
This shift in purpose to that of research would last until around 2020–2022 based on a Facebook post created in July of 2020, citing the building as AAMU’s Research Institute. In March of 2021, another Facebook post, advertising a concert from MidAmerica Productions featuring Dr. Damion Womack, only refers to the building as Carnegie Hall rather than the AAMURI or as the AAMU Research Institute, which might have indicated another change in focus. In 2022, the University sent a request to architectural consultants after receiving a $500,000 grant and assistance from the U.S. National Park Service, Historic Huntsville Foundation, City of Huntsville, the Normal Historic Preservation Association, Senator Tommy Tuberville, and Congressman Mo Brooks to complete Phase I of the building’s renovation and restoration. In the same document, the University noted that the Hall had been in a state of distress for decades, having not received significant changes since its 2002 National Register listing.
As evidenced by the photograph I took on October 9th, 2024, the Carnegie Library, once again the Carnegie Hall, remains structurally similar. Its surroundings and exterior, however, have undergone noticeable changes. The trees to the right of the building have been removed, and all of the bushes are gone. The sign is still present, but its contents are indeterminable, and the "AAMURI" sign is no longer present. The grass and trees near the curb have been replaced with a simple barrier of mulch. Subtle changes to the exterior of the Hall include a fiber optic utility dome marker near the foreground, and the roof drain pipes on both ends of the front face of the building have been replaced with white ones. The "AAMU Research Institute" lettering above the pillars has been removed, and the trash bin has been removed entirely.