Cornish Library

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The Cornish Library, is a branch of the Winnipeg Public Library, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Like the St. John's Library, the Cornish is one of two Carnegie libraries in the city. It is a Grade II listed building and a Winnipeg Landmark Heritage Structure. It was gazetted in January 15, 1993. It is named in honor of Winnipeg’s first mayor, Francis Evans Cornish.Designed by the architect S. Frank Peters, the plans had to be approved by Carnegie's personal secretary, James Bertram, to assure money was not wasted on exterior ornamentation at the expense of book shelves and furniture. The library is located at 20 West Gate in Cornish Park on a small piece of land at one of the entrances to Armstrong's Point, near the Maryland Bridge. It replaced the Winnipeg Waterworks building. It is situated opposite the Shaare Zedek Synagogue on the eastern bank of the Assiniboine River with the library's west elevation facing the river. The Cornish Baths, Winnipeg's first indoor pool, were formerly located beside the Library.HistoryConstruction by the National Construction Company of Winnipeg began in 1914. The library opened on June 15, 1915. The foundation was damaged by flooding in 1918 and it was repaired using a $7,000 Carnegie grant.Architecture and fittingsThe library, 4600sqft in size, was built in keeping with Andrew Carnegie's specifications, being of a simple plan that was characterized by classical details, fenestration and modest interior appointments. Resting on a concrete foundation, it has nearly 4,000 cu. m. (141,074 cu. ft.) of interior space, 75 million bricks, 1,002 superficial sq. m. of plaster, and 229 cu. m. of concrete. The building cost approximately $30,000.