Carnegie One Braddock: A New Transformation
December 03, 2025
Carnegie One Braddock: A New Transformation
When Andrew Carnegie opened his first public library in the United States 1889 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, he envisioned a place of refuge and relaxation for the workers at the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. A free library would expand minds; a bath house would improve personal hygiene; a swimming pool and gymnasium would promote physical fitness; a music hall would elevate the spirit. One hundred and thirty-six years later, through numerous challenges and changes, this institution is still adapting to the needs of the Braddock community and serving the same ideals.
Today, after an extensive four-year renovation project that scattered the organization’s services and programs to a variety of satellite locations, the facility has re-opened and stands ready to engage Braddock citizens in enriching and supportive activities that address the same human needs that Carnegie identified. Executive Director Vicki Vargo sees the rebirth of the building as an opportunity for the newly named Carnegie One Braddock to “reconsider how we look at things and how we can best respond to human needs.” Adaptability was a primary goal in the renovation, ensuring that the spaces can serve multiple purposes and transform as new needs arise. Primary to the new space is the library’s Carnegie One Braddock Bathhouse Ceramic Studio, which occupies the now renovated old basement bath house.
The clay program dates to the late 20th century, when Dick Wukich, an art professor at Slippery Rock University, envisioned bringing the arts to the residents of Braddock. The steel industry had virtually collapsed in the 1980s and Braddock, along with many communities in the river valleys of Western Pennsylvania, suffered great economic hardship. Wukich, with the help of local potters and the support of the Braddock Carnegie Library Association, converted the library basement into a well-equipped pottery studio and offered programs to area residents. Local potter Jeff Schwarz became involved and engaged the community and the Americorps program in a successful arm of the International Ceramic Water Filter Project that provides ceramic water filter to areas that do not have safe drinking water. Wukich and Schwarz were quite successful in bringing the program to countries in the Caribbean and Africa and even hosted a contingent of visitors from Ghana.
With the recent building renovation, the Bathhouse Ceramics Studio remains in its basement location but has benefited from a new heating and air conditioning system, new windows and lighting, and resurfacing of the floors and windows. Allison Rhodes, Programs and Partners Manager, oversees and teaches the clay program. She says, “It’s great. We don’t have to wheel the kiln around anymore. We have a clean mixing room for glazes, a dedicated kiln room, and plenty of workspace.” Rhodes is committed to incorporating the clay program into the many community programs that find resources at the library. This past fall, youth from a nearby “Earn and Learn” program made clay soap dishes and teacups for soaps and teas that they made from their local garden. A community action group against gun violence is working on a sculpture for a public art display in a healing garden. This coming March, Carnegie One is hosting its annual chili cook-off featuring bowls made in the studio by local residents. Rhodes says that the library staff tries to stay engaged with community groups and be open to public interest. “We start small,” she says, “and gradually move to bigger things.”
The Bathhouse Ceramic Studio doesn’t operate on the usual studio model. Regular classes are scheduled, for both children and adults, but the instruction is for the most part free. Rhodes is the only paid teacher and relies on volunteers for help. Potters who use the space generally help and the new gallery space holds
promise for drawing more interest. Rhodes says that the long closure cut into participation and she is working to rebuild class attendance. Over the summer, the staff librarian sent groups of children to the clay studio after a library program, which helped. “There is a health component to the clay program,” Rhodes says. “We are trying to build self-confidence, encourage creativity, and allow the children to feel proud of what they have made.” A volunteer Art Therapist attends classes, working directly with Rhodes. Her “Mommy, Mud, and Me” class for preschoolers is popular, as are the children’s classes. The teen class is more dynamic, with the curriculum adapting to student levels of interest and skill. Throwing at the wheel or hand building are introduced based on each group’s curiosity and motivation.
Both Rhodes and Vargo stress the importance of adaptability. Just as the building renovation focused on adaptable space, the birth of new programs follows the same mandate. “We match our mission to the needs of the community,” says Vargo. She cites the transformation of the old swimming pool in the “Book Dive,” a multiuse space for cozy reading whose small center stage has been used for author book readings and a wedding. Even with all these uses, the space is recognizable as a swimming pool, emphasizing how things can be recycled, re-used, and re-purposed.
Carnegie One Braddock offers a multitude of resources for its community, but perhaps its greatest contribution is standing as a locus for the power of adaptability, change, and transformation. For a community that has experienced much pain, Carnegie One Braddock is an example of perseverance, molded and inured in flame, emerging strong and solid like a pot from the kiln.
Learn more at https://carnegieone.org
Register for classes at https://braddock.librarycalendar.com/events/month
