The Carnegie Library is one of Bradford's most beautiful architectural landmarks.

In the year 1879, a Free Reading Room was established on Congress Street and Main Street. An association was set up to receive title to the Real Estate and a few books were purchased over the next few years until the number reached 3,000 volumes.

Meanwhile, the City Superintendent set up a subscription fund to purchase a small school library that was maintained through taxation.

In 1900, with a donation of $25,000 from Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist from Pittsburgh, the two older libraries would be combined in a new building on Congress Street. The offer from Mr. Carnegie required a site which would ensure good light and a guarantee from the City that the Library would be maintained at a cost of $3,000.00 a year The contract for the building was awarded to William Hanley of Bradford for $23,587.95 and was under roof in ten months. This building was taken from one of three plans that Carnegie approved for all his libraries he built worldwide.

The building was maintained as a library until 1991, when the library board was required to meet building and structural codes and in turn, voted to construct a new library building. The Library was then moved to the new site, leaving the old building vacant for 1 1/2 years with a bleak future that most probably would have resulted in the razing of the structure as the condition was already deplorable. In January 1993 the building was sold to Carnegie's Inc. with plans to renovate the top floor into a restaurant and lounge (Now Beefeaters).