CINCINNATI — The area’s first Carnegie Library – and the first-ever Library branch – is reopening after more than $12 million renovation and expansion.
The Walnut Hills Branch Library on Kemper Lane will reopen to the public at 10 a.m. Thursday with a ribbon cutting after a 17-month renovation project.
| WHO: | Community members, local officials, Library leaders |
| WHAT: |
Short press conference, followed by a ribbon cutting, then Branch tours
*Mult box available for pre-opening remarks |
| WHEN: | 10 a.m. Thursday, October 20, 2022 |
| WHERE: |
2533 East Kemper Lane
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206 *Caution: Map directions could lead to an address in Sharonville. |
Improvements include an addition more than doubling the Branch’s square footage and making the former shuttered lower level usable again. The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Library, or CHPL, Branch also becomes fully accessible. Entering the 1906-built branch – which had never received any significant improvements in its nearly 106-year history – was made prohibitive with no wheelchair ramps and a steep, concrete stair front stoop. Improvements include:
- Doubled the Branch size to approximately 23,000 square feet
- Fully accessible for all public areas
- Restoring the city of Cincinnati seal in the tile floor
- Seven small- or medium-sized meeting/study rooms and a large community room
- A 99-person capacity room in the re-opened basement
- A new CHPL-owned parking lot across from the Branch
