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    15 Gorgeous Photos Of The Old Cincinnati Library

    This library was a book lovers dream.

    Here's what 629 Vine St. in downtown Cincinnati looks like today...

    1. ...But It used to be home to one of the prettiest libraries in the country.

    2. In 1874 the Public Library of Cincinnati opened in a small building originally intended to be an opera house.

    3. The library's main entrance.

    4. A glimpse of the Main Hall can be seen through vestibule.

    5. The beautiful main hall.

    6. This photo of the Main Hall was taken about a year before the building was closed.

    7. The Art Room, it was located on the third floor of the building.

    8. The Newspaper Room (photo circa 1899).

    9. Looking down at the reading area in the Main Hall.

    10. The Main Hall featured five tiers of cast-iron alcoves that housed over 200,000 books.

    11.

    12. The Fiction Alcove, the perfect spot to get lost in.

    13. One of the large cast-iron book alcoves that lined the Main Hall.

    14.

    15. Unfortunately, the library outgrew the space and in 1955 the library was moved, and the old building was demolished.