Benning / Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library

The Benning / Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library is a branch of the District of Columbia Public Library system, located in Benning, a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C.

Benning / Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library
38.894099°N 76.947765°W / 38.894099; -76.947765
Location3935 Benning Road NE, Washington, D.C. 20019, United States
TypePublic library
Established1962; reopened 2010
Branch ofDistrict of Columbia Public Library
Other information
Website

History
The interior of the new Benning / Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library, pictured in 2011.
The interior of the new Benning / Dorothy I. Height Neighborhood Library, pictured in 2011.

The site at 3935 Benning Road NE was previously home to a library designed by Clark T. Harmon as part of a D.C. Public Works Program initiative, a one-story brick-and-concrete building that opened in 1962. The library had played an important role in the surrounding community since its inception.[1]

In 2004, the original library was closed to make way for a new structure on the same site, as part of a citywide push to revamp D.C.'s public libraries. An interim library served the Benning community while construction was underway.[2][3][4][5]

The new Benning / Dorothy I. Height branch of the DCPL opened on April 5, 2010.[1][6][7]

It was named in honor of Dorothy Height, an influential civil rights and women's rights activist.[7]

The new library was designed by the architecture firm Davis Brody Bond Aedas. Construction of the two-story, 22,000-square-foot building cost $12 million.[1][8][9]

The library features public art from artists based in D.C.'s Ward 7.[1][10]

See also

References
  1. "Benning Library History". District of Columbia Public Library. Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  2. Reed, Dan (2019-03-19). "New Public Libraries Are Some of the Best Buildings in DC". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  3. Acosta, Marcel C. (2008-03-27). "BENNING NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY LIBRARY REPLACEMENT" (PDF). National Capital Planning Commission.
  4. Austermuhle, Martin (2012-06-29). "The New Cathedral: D.C.'s Rebuilt Public Libraries Draw Praise for Design and Purpose". DCist. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  5. Kennicott, Philip (2010-04-05). "Benning library is well worth checking out; High-tech advances aside, designers didn't throw out the book in planning facility". The Washington Post.
  6. "Benning (Dorothy I. Height) Library". District of Columbia Public Library. Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  7. Highsmith, Carol M. (September 2011). "Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, Washington, D.C." Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  8. Renwick, Dustin (2017-03-30). "6 beautiful libraries in D.C. by famous architects". Curbed DC. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  9. "Progress and Promise Mark New Benning Library Opening". District of Columbia Public Library. 2010-04-04. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  10. "Benning Neighborhood Library FAQs". District of Columbia Public Library. Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
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