Rosemount Public Library - Integrated Project Dossier (2016)

The Rosemount Library serves as an example of Beaux-Arts Architecture, an architectural style that was widely popular in Ottawa at the turn of the 20th century. However, many of the Beaux-Arts features of the original library were compromised during the 1982 renovation; it was in fact this renovation that continues to deny the building a heritage des­ignation. Thus, the significance of the building lies pri­marily in its history and modern-day context. Rose­mount Library was initially the second Carnegie Li­brary constructed in Ottawa, the first being the Ottawa Public Library, opened in 1906. Carnegie Li­braries were a series of libraries constructed during the late 19th-early 20th century from the funds of the American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The Rosemount branch, which was constructed in 1918, was the last library to be built during Andrew Carn­egie's life as he died the following year. When the Ottawa Public Library was demolished and rebuilt in 1974, the Rosemount branch became the last standing Carnegie library in the city. This student project focused on recording the study on the first floor of the build­ing-the reading room and the stack room. This is the Integrated Project Dossier compiled by a group of undergraduate students of the Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Program (Engineers and architects) at Carleton University for the CIVE3207 (ARCN4100) Historic Site Recording and Assessment course in 2016.