Carnegie Branch Library

Looking like Frank Lloyd Wright parachuted one of his buildings into Victorian Savannah, the Carnegie Branch Library (537 E. Henry St., 912/652-3600, Mon. 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Tues.–Thurs. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 2–6 p.m.) is the only example of Prairie-style architecture in town, designed by Savannah architect Julian de Bruyn Kops and built, as the name implies, with funding from tycoon/philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1914.

But much more importantly, the Carnegie Library was for decades the only public library for African Americans in Savannah [1]. One of its patrons was a young Clarence Thomas, who would grow up to be a Supreme Court justice.