{{for|the similarly named facility in Jackson, Tennessee|Carnegie Center for Arts and History}} {{More footnotes needed|date=May 2009}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Carnegie Center for Art & History | nrhp_type = cp | nocat = yes | partof = New Albany Downtown Historic District | partof_refnum = 99001074 | image = Carnegie Center Front of Building Image.png | caption = Front of the Carnegie Center | location = New Albany, Indiana | locmapin = Indiana#USA | coordinates = {{coord|38.2867|-85.8219|type:landmark_region:US-IN|display=inline,title}} | area = | built = 1902 | architect = Clarke & Loomis | architecture = Neoclassical Revival | added = September 3, 1999<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> | website = {{URL|https://www.fcculturalartscenter.org/}} }}
The '''Carnegie Center for Art & History''', within the Downtown Historic District of New Albany, Indiana, is a contemporary art gallery and local history museum. The Carnegie Center offers a variety of exhibitions, events, and learning opportunities for the public.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.dnsa1.carnegiecenter.org/about/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=The Carnegie Center for Art and History |language=en-US |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023014608/https://www.dnsa1.carnegiecenter.org/about/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Carnegie Center is a branch of the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.
The building was initially built as a Carnegie library, first opened on March 2, 1904, with 11,125 total books.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IHB |date=2020-12-07 |title=New Albany's Carnegie Library |url=https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/new-albanys-carnegie-library/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=IHB |language=en |archive-date=July 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723123011/https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/new-albanys-carnegie-library/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is of Beaux-Arts architecture style. It was used as a library until 1969, when the new New Albany-Floyd County Public Library was built. After a $1.2 million renovation in 1998, the name was changed to the Carnegie Center for Art & History to better reflect its mission and library heritage. In 2015, total attendance was 26,690 and Carnegie Center staff presented 107 programs to participants of all ages. All exhibits and programs are offered free of charge to the public.
== Exhibitions == The Carnegie Center has two permanent exhibitions.
The first is entitled ''Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad'', which opened in March 2006. The exhibit explores the lives of real people both free and enslaved, whose selfless acts of courage helped fugitive slaves find hope and freedom. The Exhibit is based on the book, ''The Underground Railroad in Floyd County, Indiana'' by Pamela Peters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IHB |date=2020-12-07 |title=Journey to the Underground Railroad in Floyd CountyIndiana by Pamela R Peters |url=https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/all-resources-for-educators/resources/underground-railroad/journey-to-the-underground-railroad-in-floyd-countyindiana-by-pamela-r-peters/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=IHB |language=en |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023013101/https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/all-resources-for-educators/resources/underground-railroad/journey-to-the-underground-railroad-in-floyd-countyindiana-by-pamela-r-peters/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Pamela R. |title=The underground railroad in Floyd County, Indiana |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-0-7864-1070-5 |location=Jefferson, N.C}}</ref> Information for the project was gathered from court records, newspaper stories, oral history accounts, and other artifacts.<ref name=":0" /> At the heart of the exhibit are the residents of New Albany who were able to accomplish so much in light of the risk of being involved with the Underground Railroad.
The second permanent exhibit is entitled ''Remembered: The Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols''. The exhibit guides visitors through Lucy's life from 1838 to 1915. Period documents and letters detail her life as an enslaved person in Tennessee, a nurse during the Civil War, and her post-war life in freedom. It highlights her six-year battle for a nurse's pension, ultimately awarded through a Special Act of Congress. Visitors can explore maps that pinpoint the paths she took and examine actual artifacts from the Civil War, including an Enfield rifle and an amputation saw of the same type used by the surgeons Lucy served with in the 23rd Indiana Volunteers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembered: The Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols |url=https://www.dnsx1.carnegiecenter.org/exhibitions/remembered-life-lucy-higgs-nichols/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=The Carnegie Center for Art and History |language=en-US |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023045618/https://www.dnsx1.carnegiecenter.org/exhibitions/remembered-life-lucy-higgs-nichols/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== *List of museums in Indiana *List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area *National Register of Historic Places listings in Floyd County, Indiana
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.carnegiecenter.org/ Official website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070722021509/http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/ihb/press/newalbany3.html Indiana Historical Bureau Marker Dedication - Three New Albany State Historical Marker Dedications]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnegie Center for Art and History}} Category:Library buildings completed in 1902 Category:Carnegie libraries in Indiana Category:National Register of Historic Places in Floyd County, Indiana Category:Buildings and structures in New Albany, Indiana Category:Museums in Floyd County, Indiana Category:Art museums and galleries in Indiana Category:History museums in Indiana Category:Former library buildings in the United States Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1971 Category:Historic district contributing properties in Indiana Category:Libraries established in 1904