Grandview Heights Public Library

On January 11, 1923, the Grandview Heights Board of Education approved a plan for the establishment of a public library in Grandview Heights. In June 1924, the Grandview Heights Public Library (GHPL) opened its doors in a room in the Grandview Heights High School.   

After moving to four different rented sites on First Avenue, the library moved to the present location in September 1936. The building was built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds on land donated by George Cambridge Urlin, one of the founding fathers of Grandview Heights. The Grandview Library was officially dedicated on September 14, 1936, complete with a WPA band performing on site for entertainment. Approximately 2000 people attended the opening day festivities while a total of 909 items were checked out that day. A 1941 addition to the southwest corner of the building allowed for a new reading room which eventually became the GHPL’s Reference Room. A major remodeling and construction project in 1989 added the central atrium. 

The Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society maintains archives in their Founders Room in the library; the Founders Room is open to the public on the 2nd Sundays of the month, from 1 – 4 p.m. Stop by and learn more about Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff history.  

Today the GHPL has almost 20,000 active users and an annual circulation of over 645,000. It is 1 of only 8 U.S. public libraries to receive 12 consecutive five-star ratings from Library Journal. 

Busy intersection of Oakland and First Avenues, circa 1942; buildings on the right (south) of street were razed for the expanding GHPL. 

Sculpture in memory of former Library Board of Trustee Member Sharon Voelker.