Completion date: 1979
Budget: $1.4 million

Overview

A provincially designated heritage building, the Carnegie Centre is an enduring part of Vancouver’s history. Built in 1903, it was the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library until 1957, and then became the City Museum. It later sat empty for ten years before being given new life as a community centre. Work on the renovation began in 1976. The new facility, with its recreation and meeting rooms, classrooms, workshops, auditorium space and mini library, opened to the public in 1980. Aesthetically, both the design of the new addition and the re-shaping of the old interiors echo the original. Rustication of walls and the use of the arch and high ceiling spaces are repeated in the new wing.