East Henry Street Carnegie Library

It was the local library for James Alan McPherson, who became the first African American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize and for Clarence Thomas who went on to become a judge on the United States Supreme Court.

The Association's twelve founding members included many of Black Savannah's professional, business, and cultural leaders.

Though its opening day collections consisted of only 3,000 volumes, the library immediately became an indispensable community institution among Savannah's African Americans.

It provided them with reading materials by Black and White authors, programs to attend, clubs to join, and space for public meetings.

(The University of Southern Mississippi) Julian deBruyn Kops, a local Savannah architect and engineer, was commissioned to design the new library.

The building itself is significant not only because of the part it plays in the social history of Black Savannah, but also because of the style of which deBruyn Kops chose for it.

[1] In respect and appreciation of the assistance they received from the Carnegie grant, the name of the library was also officially changed when it was moved into Kops' building on East Henry Street.

The Carnegie Colored Library which existed after this move helped to foster and support a growing Black community in downtown Savannah through the two world wars and struggles for civil rights.

Live Oak Public Library System celebrating centennial anniversary documents describe the building's the Prairie architecture influences noting: "The monumental staircase leading to the main entrance on the second floor is framed by two enormous piers with sandstone orbs on small pedestals.

This emphasis on horizontality achieved through the coping and polychromed brickwork is a key element of the architecture of the Prairie School, pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries.

The library also received the latest technical equipment, such as a new classroom designed to provide interactive computer learning.

[3] The restructuring was done in the same architectural style as the building was initially erected in, and all additions would adhere to the library's historical roots.