Next OnQ, self-made millionaire, business tycoon, local philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was all of those things.

And his name is one of Pittsburgh's most recognized.

Tonight, we'll look at how a new book captures Carnegie in a more personal light than ever before.

We'll take a look at how his legacy continues by taking you to the community and library that bear his name.

See how efforts to restore the Carnegie Carnegie are paying off.

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And welcome to OnQ magazine.

I'm Michael Bartley.

Tonight we're delving into the life of one of the most interesting and intriguing men of the mid 19th and early 20th centuries, a Scottish immigrant who rose to prominence and wealth in Pittsburgh.

Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream.

Many books have been written about him, but a new biography out this month takes a more personal look at the man behind the millions.

And it's getting good reviews.

The new book, simply titled Andrew Carnegie, provides a fascinating look at a man who went from being a business tycoon to a world famous philanthropist.

OnQ, contributor Carol Lee Espy, has the story.

He was one of the most powerful and influential figures of the American Industrial Revolution, but mention the name of Andrew Carnegie and you'll get a wide range of responses.

I don't know a lot about him.

I know he's named after the school and the museums and stuff.

I guess he was a great guy because he funded like universities and libraries around the country.

He was a typical robber baron and he did not treat his workers very well.

He's left a legacy.

We've got our dinosaurs to look at.

But whether you admire or dislike Carnegie, it seems almost everyone in this part of western Pennsylvania has a story about him, and it's a personal story.

It's a personal story.

They know a great uncle or a great aunt or a friend, or the neighbor down the street who used to work at homestead or worked at Braddock.

So what do you think Carnegie would think of the library now?

I think he'd be delighted.

David Nasaw is the author of an 800 page book on Carnegie.

Why Carnegie?

How did you get interested in him?

Yeah, it was an editor's idea.

She said that there were great new biographies of Rockefeller and J.P.

Morgan, but none of Carnegie.

I flew down to Washington and went to the Library of Congress and started looking through his letters.

And when I discovered that he had this puckish sense of humor, you know, I was hooked.

Absolutely hooked.

But that's not really what set him apart from the other.

No, no, no.

There're so many different reasons.

One of them was that great historian Richard Hofstadter once said that Carnegie was the only robber baron with a conscience.

He didn't always follow that conscience, but he was the only one with a conscience.

That's number one.

Number two, he's the only intellectual.

He wanted to be known for his writing and his thinking and wrote book after book after book after book.

Third, he had a bunch of different careers.

One of the things we forget, is that the last 20 years of his life, he spent as a crusader for peace.

He understood earlier than anybody else that World War one, the Great War, was going to happen.

And he spent 20 years of his life commuting back and forth among the world's capitals, talking to the world's leaders, trying to get this League of Peace set up.

He took it personally when it did erupt into war, and was horrible when he realized that the Great War was not going to stop, that it was going to go on until millions had been killed.

He relapsed.

He fell into this silence and stayed quiet for the next four years.

Stop writing.

Stop communicating with his wife, his daughter, his friends.

Did he actually suffer from depression because it seemed like it came on overnight?

Some of his friends talked about it as if it was a nervous breakdown, but everyone said that it was directly related to the Great War.

Nasaw was never able to determine whether Carnegie did indeed suffer depression, but through his research in libraries in Pittsburgh, Washington, London and Edinburgh, he learned many other things about the rags to riches life of Carnegie, from his humble beginnings in a small town in Scotland to his arrival in Pittsburgh in the mid 1800s with his parents, William and Margaret and brother Tom.

The father didn't find work Mag supported the family until, at age 14, little Andy was sent into a cotton mill.

He worked as a bobbin boy for about six months, and then found work as a messenger for a telegraph company.

On Wood and sixth was the best telegram messenger Pittsburgh had ever seen, because he had a remarkable memory, and he memorized all the faces of the businessmen.

He then became the youngest telegraph operator, went on to work for the railroad, and by his 30s was already a millionaire.

But it was still where Carnegie eventually found his fortune.

Carnegie was brought the idea by his father in law.

Carnegie jumped on the idea and focused all of his energies and all of his money on putting together a steel mill.

They set up the what was then called the Edgar Thomson's Steel Mill at Braddock, and they went into the business in 1873, the worst possible time, because it was the midst of a huge depression.

And Carnegie rode out the depression.

And in time opened up more mills.

Those mills were a big reason why, at the end of the 19th century, the U.S.

was out producing even the United Kingdom in steel production.

But any story about Andrew Carnegie must include the historic and painful showdown between Pinkerton guards and striking workers at the Homestead steelworks.

In 1892.

Seven workers and three guards were killed.

For years and years and years.

Carnegie insisted that he had nothing to do with the violence at homestead with bringing in.

The Pinkertons blamed it all on Frick.

He did it privately.

He did it publicly.

Did it in letters.

It was all Frick's fault.

And he continued to say, if I had been here, it would have been different.

Carnegie was in Scotland.

I was very fortunate to be the first biographer to have full access to the Frick Carnegie correspondence.

And it becomes abundantly clear that Carnegie knew exactly what was going on, that it was his plan, as well as Frick's, that he had called in the Pinkertons.

He didn't expect that the people of homestead would fight back.

He expected that they would see the Pinkertons coming.

Retreat!

Give up.

Surrender.

Let's talk about his relationship with Frick.

The only thing they had in common was they both had beards and they were small.

They were both tiny little men.

But where Carnegie was voluble, garrulous, charming, always with a smile on his face, a joker, you know, the kind of man you would die to have to sit next to at a dinner party.

Frick was taciturn, quiet.

Frick was, maybe because of these traits, one of the world's great administrators.

He had a great head for figures.

And despite their very opposite natures, the two worked together for years before finally calling it quits at the turn of the 20th century.

After that, Carnegie began selling off his plants, earning enough money to become the richest man in the world.

He spent his remaining years giving his money away.

While earlier biographers have believed that his decision to become a philanthropist would make him a gentler employer, the opposite was the case.

He knew at an early age that every penny he made, he was going to give back to the larger community.

He wasn't going to ask the community how it wanted to spend the money.

He knew best, and he was going to be the benefactor of Pittsburgh, New York, the nation, Scotland, the world.

In order to do that, he needed money.

The more profits he was able to squeeze out of his steel mills, the more money he would have to give back.

So the decision to give away all his money made him a harsher employer, made him a more ruthless employer.

Do you think Carnegie had any regrets at the end of his life?

I think Carnegie had no regrets about making his money.

He believed that tough decisions had to be made by men of power, and he was a man of power.

That if he ran his factories for the workers and for the good of the workers, then he'd never make a profit, and the factories would close down.

So he had no regrets about homestead, about Braddock, about calling in the Pinkertons.

It's impossible, of course, to mention everything about Carnegie's life in one story.

But author David Nasaw makes a valiant effort.

His book is over 800 pages, and you can read a preview of Andrew Carnegie in this month's issue of Pittsburgh Magazine, where contributing editor Hattie Fletcher has some positive things to say about the biography.

Again, that's the latest edition of Pittsburgh Magazine.

And for more information about the story about Andrew Carnegie, log on to our website wqed.org/OnQ.

Now, from the man himself to an entire town named in his honor.

Our next story takes us to the borough of Carnegie, where plans are underway to revitalize the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.

The building is rich in history, but also badly in need of repair.

Tonight OnQ, Tonia Caruso takes us on a tour and explains why the community won't rest until the Carnegie Carnegie is restored to its former glory.

This is quite a treasure for the nation and certainly for Carnegie.

Well I think it's the Acropolis of Carnegie, certainly sitting on top of the hill.

And it's a very handsome structure.

I think that this it's appropriate that this building has some powerful stories to tell.

This building is the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, and it's tied more closely to the history of Carnegie than any other building in town.

Its legacy and its contributions are immeasurable, beginning with how it helped Carnegie to get its name.

The Carnegie actually came into existence when the leaders of what were then Chartiers and Mansfield, went up to New York, approached Mr.

Carnegie and said, if you build us a library, we will merge and become Carnegie.

And the town incorporated in 1894, steel giant Andrew Carnegie stayed true to his word.

In 1899, construction began, and in 1901 the library opened its doors, and it was unequivocally the grandest building around a library.

A music hall perched up here on the top of the hill above a thriving main street.

It was the most beautiful building in the western suburbs, and it stayed that way.

Paramount in the community for decades, the library provided a place for people to gather where knowledge could be shared.

Graduations, concerts and community plays took place in the music hall, and the basement provided a place for young people to play.

Life was good, but then, as acting executive Director Maggie Forbes explains, things began to change.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library was one of only four libraries in this country that Mr.

Carnegie endowed.

The others are Braddock, homestead, Duquesne, and Carnegie.

The original endowment was $93,000.

Carnegie later gave another $100,000 more.

Somewhere along the line, the endowment ran out several decades ago.

Really, there was no place to turn.

For years, the library board struggled to keep the building running.

Betsy Bell Martin is an architect who's been a library trustee since 1985.

We had a big campaign in the late 80s, early 90s to get a new roof because the roof was leaking badly.

Then we had another drive to insulate the building.

At least the the attic space and do some new electrical work.

And now the library is involved in its most expensive and challenging campaign ever.

It's working to raise $8 million to restore, renovate and revitalize this building.

Everywhere inside you see the reasons why.

Like this.

Nearly forgotten treasure.

City.

It's incredible.

It's just.

It's mind boggling.

And here it is, just sitting here waiting for us to take care of it.

So I think it's.

I think it's our destiny to take care of this On the second floor of the library is another incredible link to history.

This is the Thomas Espy Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a room where Union Civil War veterans met for decades after the battle.

It's filled with countless artifacts, books, and detailed accounts of the soldiers lives.

There are very few, if any, rooms like it still intact in our country.

The room was opened in 1906 by the membership of the Grand Army of the Republic for this lodge.

This was their meeting room.

The leader, the captain of that group was Thomas Espy, who was, of course the local resident and after whom this post is named.

We were told that after the last veteran died, the room was closed up, literally barricaded with bookcases, we're told, on the other side of the main door here, and supposedly no one entered the room until the early 1980s.

It was quite a revelation to us to find this intact JR post.

Ken Bowman is the president of the Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves, a nonprofit reenactment group dedicated to the preservation and history of the Civil War.

And during those early years, the membership cleaned it up, removed the coal dust, and tried to spruce it up as best they can just to stabilize it and maintain it.

And that's about all we could do because of the vast amount of money that would be needed to really restore this room.

But now, thanks to the library's campaign, the ninth reserves is making real progress.

The national encampment.

On this day, some members are cataloging officers orders.

30th April 1895, while Ken and fellow member Michael Kiss go through other items in the room.

This is number 87, rifle and bayonet.

All right, let me let me check it out.

Here it is.

US rifle made at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

I mean, they're actual weapons created in the 1860s, 1850s that were used on the field and then brought here afterwards.

I mean, these these guys, they actually touch these muskets, and then they seen the battles and actually still functions.

Structurally, the room is as it was when the veterans came here.

It's just deteriorated.

The books were deteriorating.

The upholstery on the commander's and vice commander's chairs were deteriorating.

The carpeting is original, but there are spots where it is threadbare, and we would like to have it redone.

That's really our goal right now, is to get funding, to preserve it and maintain it, and make it available to the public for all generations.

And that's the goal for the entire building.

This is the Andrew Carnegie Music Hall, and it really is a beauty.

It has so much character.

That's apparent.

But what isn't apparent is it is superb.

Acoustically, it's patterned after Carnegie Hall in New York.

The music hall is.

But so too is our whole building by the way.

And these seats, you can see they are the original.

And everybody is always captivated by the fact that we have hat racks under the seat.

The Music Hall is home to two performing companies, the Carnegie Performing Arts Center and Stage 62, a community theater group.

It welcomes countless other performers throughout the year, and with the reception and meeting hall right off of the balcony, it's fast becoming a much sought after venue from the outset.

So what about the restoration?

Where do things stand now?

Well, phase one, completed in 2005, made the building accessible and structurally sound.

Phase two, just about finished, was all about weatherproofing.

We sealed the foundations.

We put in French drains.

We restored the gutters, eaves, cornices, roofs, all the masonry.

You get any shots of our plywood in the windows?

That is beautification, not blight.

We are restoring these gorgeous windows, which I think are the stunning architectural feature of the building.

A phase three is the part that we're all waiting for.

It's the interior improvements, repairing some of the damage that has been done by all those decades of water coming in, the plaster and the paint that needs to be restored.

Also, air conditioning, new floors and upgrades to the main reading room and music hall are in the works.

All of this as the campaign committee still has nearly four more million dollars to raise.

There is no doubt in my mind that we're going to go all the way to the finish.

Ask Maggie Forbes why, and she'll quickly point to September 2004, when a community crisis could have ruined the fundraising campaign.

It's when Hurricane Ivan struck, and absolutely devastated Carnegie.

That was September 17th.

Needless to say, it was a horrifying experience.

Main Street was completely underwater.

There wasn't a business on Main Street that was open.

Somebody was killed.

It certainly took the wind out of my sails, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm for the project.

In fact, in the middle of the cleanup, the donations kept coming.

In those two weeks, the rest of the community just came and stopped by in their darkest hour, Carnegie said.

You go.

You know, they were flat on their backs.

It truly was a tragedy.

And somehow they said, we can't do it.

We need to do what we set out to do.

Library director Diane Reagan believes it's that kind of passion that sets this community and this library apart.

When I think about it, is all the mill workers that Mr.

Carnegie employed.

And it was really the sweat equity of all those workers that enabled, the people of Carnegie to have a building here as a library.

So, certainly for Mr.

Carnegie's sake, but also for their sake.

I think that the building needs to be preserved.

And step by step, that work continues with the campaign committee and the people dedicated to one goal taking this building a gem from the past and making it shine once again for the region and for the country.

That means everything.

It's what we do.

It's what we're all about.

I mean, just being able to bring somebody in here, this is.

This is what it's about.

Saving history.

I think it has a great future, and I think the town will appreciate it.

And profit from it.

I truly believe that restoring this beautiful building is the linchpin that will galvanize revitalization of Carnegie.

This is indeed the beacon on the hill for Carnegie and surrounding communities.

This is where the town came into being.

And and this is what we need to do.

Tonia tells us the basement of the building will be transformed into studio space for the community to use.

The official name of the library's fundraising group is the Chartiers Valley Partnership.

They still have $4 million left to raise, but they hope to get the job done.

If you'd like more information on the Carnegie Carnegie, including the Thomas Espy Post, log on to our website As always, wqed.org/OnQ.

And before we go tonight, here's a quick preview of some upcoming episodes of OnQ.

Every Friday night, OnQ is OffQ as we look back at the news of the week, join host Chris Moore.

The regular panel Fred Hunsberger, Ruth Ann Dailey, Valerie McDonald Roberts and guest Doris Carson Williams from the African American Chamber of Commerce.

Then on Monday night, another OnQ neighborhood special.

This time we focus on East Liberty.

We'll cover it's great history talk about the years of decline, but we'll also show you the efforts to revitalize East Liberty with new business now and more planned for the future.

East Liberty, an OnQ neighborhood special Monday night.

That's at 7:30.

And then on Tuesday, a groundbreaking exhibit unlike any other in the country.

Phipps Tropical Forest, Thailand is now in Pittsburgh.

After years of planning and trips to Thailand.

And we'll show you how it all came together Tuesday night OnQ.

When viewers request, we respond.

Is there an OnQ story you think bears repeating when you heard about from friends, or maybe miss the first time around?

Let us know by logging on to our website, WQED.org Then click OnQ to submit your request for an OnQ story.

Remember, you have three chances a day to catch OnQ.

We're live weeknights at 7:30.

We show you that episode later, the same night at midnight, and again the following afternoon at 12:30 OnQ, 7:30, midnight, and 12:30 the following weekday afternoon.

And thanks for watching tonight.

We'll see you back here live at 7:30 tomorrow night.

Good night.