Branch History
The Brooklyn Branch, a Carnegie Library Building, has been in continuous use since 1919. Located in the historic Brooklyn Centre neighborhood and across from Riverside Cemetery, Brooklyn Branch’s 5,900 square feet are open to a culturally and ethnically diverse community.
Ora Coltman worked for the Cleveland Public Library as a supervising architect and building inspector. The Library hired Coltman to draw plans and supervise the construction of three libraries, including Brooklyn. Brooklyn Branch is an example of a convertible type building: plain brick, semi-fireproof, factory type sky lights. These features would allow the building to be leased for light industrial use if it became unneeded as a library branch. The facility was remodeled in 1985.
Special Features
Brooklyn’s art collection includes: Thistle by Thelma Frazier Winter, enamel on copper, 1966; and Neighborhood by Clarence E. Van Duzer, metal wall sculpture, 1985.