PRESS RELEASE
CHAPS, 365 S. B St. Hamilton, Ohio
45013
Citizens for Historic and Preservation Services
For Immediate
Release
June 20, 2007
Contact: 513-374-9450
Citizens for Historic and Preservation Services (CHAPS) of Butler
County is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, July 3, 2007 concerning the
abandoned Carnegie Library building in Middletown. The meeting is open
to all interested parties and will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish House
Theater of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 212 S. Broad Street, Middletown. CHAPS
intends to accomplish four goals with the meeting: 1) present historic
significance of the library, 2) gauge local interest and concern, 3) discuss
ideas for a sustainable reuse, and 4) attempt to form a committee charged with
exploring alternatives for the library. Jerry Leshner, President of CHAPS, and
Sam Ashworth, President of the Middletown Historical Society and CHAPS Advisory
Board Member, will conduct the meeting.
Once a symbol of civic pride, the
Carnegie Library in Middletown will be demolished if no buyer is found for the
building at an upcoming Sheriff’s Sale. The imposing building opened with a
$25,000 Carnegie grant just months before the Great Flood of 1913, suffering
only minimal damage. Designed by George Barkman of Hamilton, the library is the
only Carnegie ever to be designed by a Butler County architect. The building
received additions in 1932 and 1959 before being abandoned for a new big-box
style library that opened closer to downtown in 1983. Acquired by a women’s
shelter, the building was temporarily occupied, but has been vacant for several
years. Now, the roof is crumbling, the windows have been broken out, the grass
is left uncut, and the building is a constant victim of vandalism because of its
vacancy.
Middletown is at a crossroads. With past losses of the post
office and city building, the recent demolition of the YMCA, and ongoing
demolition of Middletown’s historic schools, the city is quickly losing its
historic civic buildings. CHAPS hopes the community will join together to save
this irreplaceable piece of the city’s history.