History & local legend
The Main branch of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh occupies the Carnegie complex on Forbes Avenue in Oakland. Andrew Carnegie dedicated the institution on November 5, 1895. The original building brought a library, theater, art gallery, and museum together, and a major expansion in 1907 added an eleven-story book stack and a children’s reading room.
The ghost story attached to the library is an intimate one: books that will not stay put. VisitPittsburgh recounts a tradition that librarians shelve the books before closing, only to find volumes scattered on the floor the following morning. The explanation offered in local lore is that some former readers continue to wander the building after death.
