I took a guided tour of the Carnegie Building today, which served as Duluth's public library from 1902-1980, I believe. It's a gorgeous building, and it was fun to hear Paul Roen, a great Duluthian, decribe what it was like to work in the building when it was a functioning library. It wasn't always so pretty, it turns out. Mostly it was dim, dingy, falling apart, and cramped. But the current owners have put a lot of work into it and made it into something fantastic.

Paul's tour was funny, insightful and entertaining. It really made me want to tour more Duluth buildings. I often get the urge to go inside some of the cool buildings in Duluth and look around, but it's so much better if you get the real scoop from someone who knows some of the history behind the place.

Aside from these photos, I have some more in a Flickr set. They're worth checking out, as the building is incredible.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my video camera with me, as this would have made a great Minnesota Story.