The Old Library

The old Capitol Annex built in 1902, was the home of the WV Supreme Court, and was first brought to light as a possibility for the library in 1925.  The Library Commission at the time didnt want the Annex. They preferred a building built as a library instead. The first Kanawha County library was founded in 1909 and located in the YMCA building at Capitol and Washington streets.  Later it moved to various parts of the city. Finally it located on the corner of Kanawha St and McFarland, from 1914 to 1921.  For the next 5 years, it was housed in the old Red Cross building at the end of Capitol Street and Kanawha. Col. A.E. Humphries, who had donated $100,000 to the idea of a new library, asked friends and citizens to donate also.  Humphries donated stock in his oil company and eventually enough money was raised to purchase the old Capitol Annex building for $400,00. Morris Harvey College was housed in the library for a time, as was the Federal-State unemployment office. This is a collection of library photos from 1926 to 1966

Great ariel shot courtesy of Mike Price

At 1:06pm on Dec 28, 1966, a cutters torch set the building on fire, which was under demolition.  Six Companies of firefighters responded and had the fire out within a couple of hours, but stayed on the scene for a few more to make sure there were no flair-up.s  I watched the library burn, as did my girlfriend at the time. She had a camera and took many color photos. Wish they were still around.

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