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Falls Road Library
At a cost of £3,969, the Falls Road Library was completed on the 18th January 1907. It was not officially opened though until 1908 by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, the Earl of Shaftesbury.
Messrs. Courtney & Co. commissioned the architects Graeme-Watt and Tullock to design it while the land was donated by Belfast City Council.
These sculpted allegorical figures representing Art, Literature and Science were the creation of Sophia Rosamond Praeger, younger sister of the naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger. Her artistic talent was honed in Belfast School of Art and Slade in London.
The library displays the classical style of the English Renaissance with red brick and Hunter’s Hill stone giving it that distinctive appearance. This was only the second Carnegie library building erected in Belfast which provided a vital service then and continuing to do so exactly 100 years later.
On the ground floor here is a multi-media service, adult and children’s areas. It’s most recent refurbishment took place in 2007 therefore equipping it with all the mod-cons and well into the near future.
A centenary exhibition superbly prepared by the librarian Anne Kerr illustrates in photos and past news clippings the history of this building.
Just before going upstairs is a memorial tablet with an inscription stating that this building was a gift by Andrew Carnegie Esq. to the people of Belfast.
Leading upstairs is the original staircase with wooden banisters supported by a metal frame interspersed with flowery detail and even a gate at the top of the stairs.
Other original features include this mosaic hall just like at the main entrance. A quirky feature here is the small room facing the stairs at 45? angle. It would have housed a security guard. During those early days he would have been keen to keep the women and men separate since women had their own ladies room to read in.
The larger rooms on this floor were also divided between newspapers and general study areas. Windows up here provide quite scenic views over Belfast.
Back downstairs again, the library still retains the original plans of the building, letters and a few bits and pieces used for administration purposes. There’s archived material, even an antique mechanical device with the library’s seal on it which still works beautifully and certainly must have been well used when over 300,000 visits to the library took place in its first year alone.
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