Carnegie Library plans restoration fundraiser

Color prints of two Corbin landmarks will be on sale Tuesday night to benefit the ongoing effort to restore the old Carnegie Library.

Corbin’s Carnegie Library building in its heyday.

Maggie Kriebel, Vice Chair of the Carnegie Center of Corbin, said local artist Barbara Willingham has donated 50 signed and numbered prints featuring the old Krystal Kitchen and the old Engineer Street Bridge that will be available during the Facebook Live event at 6 p.m. on April 20.

The Krystal Kitchen print, entitled, “Time Expired,” is $100.

The bridge print, entitled, “Old Railroad Bridge,” is $150.

“You can purchase both for $200,” Kriebel said.

After three years of fundraising efforts, the Carnegie Corporation purchased the 104-year-old building on Roy Kidd Ave. in November with the goal of transforming it into a multi-purpose facility, housing a Corbin History Museum and community center.

The Carnegie Corporation used additional funds to replace the roof. The next step is to raise the funds to have the coping on the brick up near the roof repaired.

“After we paid for the roof, we had $16,559.01 in our account,” Kriebel said of the Carnegie Corporation, noting the cost to complete the entire restoration project on the building is between $1.2 and $1.5 million.

“We are applying for grants,” Kriebel said noting the organization is not relying entirely on donations for the project.

The Carnegie Corporation of Corbin is a 501c3 non-profit, so all donations are tax-deductible.

Donations may be mailed directly to The Carnegie Corporation of Corbin, Inc., at P.O. Box 114, Corbin, KY, 40702.

Andrew Carnegie, who made his fortune in the railroad and steel industries, was, at one time, the richest man in the world.

As part of his philanthropic work, Carnegie provided endowments for more than 2,500 public libraries in 10 countries.

In 1916, the Corbin Women’s Improvement Club began a letter writing campaign in an effort to secure a grant from the Carnegie Foundation for a library in Corbin.

When the letter writing failed to achieve results, Ada Gray Gilliam, one of the charter members of the club, boarded a train for Washington, D.C. where she met with members of the Carnegie Group, convincing them to fund a library in Corbin.

Since the library moved to a newer building across the street, different portions of the building have been used as a radio station, a base for the community bookmobile, and as neighboring First Baptist Church’s food pantry.

Kriebel said the corporation has an agreement with First Baptist Church that will keep the food pantry in the building until the church can build a new home for it.