Have you ever been? The Mercantile Library…Gem!3 min read

When walking around the streets of downtown Cincinnati, it’s hard not to be in awe of the fantastic architecture and the unique old buildings. Well, inside many of those buildings are even more unbelievable old structures that have been kept in pristine condition. One of the coolest of these spots (that likely many people reading this have never visited) is the Mercantile Library. You have to go check this out.

If you’ve ever spent time downtown, you probably walk past this building all the time. It’s simply named The Mercantile Building, but if you go to the 11th floor, you enter an amazing, beautiful space that’s a library…but could be a museum. Anyone is welcome to visit, look around and take in many of the speaking events, but you can also become a member for a nominal fee and enjoy even more. Yoga on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so many other events and the ability to check out some of more than 90,000 books from the newest titles to some of the oldest!

The Mercantile was started by 45 men in 1835. They were mainly merchants and clerks who wanted a place to continue educating themselves when they had time away from work. These were smart men. Originally they weren’t the doctors and lawyers because they had formal education… these were the hard working men who yearned for more.

Initially, they rented rooms from Cincinnati College, which was near the property where they stand now.  After moving around to a few rooms and relocating following a couple of fires, they finally found their home circa 1902 -1903 on the 11th floor at 414 Walnut Street.

In 1845 Alfonzo Taft, the father of William Howard Taft (yes, the future POTUS), drafted a pretty awesome lease agreement. The agreement was that they paid $10,000 up front for a 10,000 year lease. Get it?? $1 a year! (Even I can do that math problem ;) This includes heat (but obviously no electric, because there wasn’t any at the time).

The interior of the library is breathtaking with its hardwood floors, spiral staircase and antique tables––dating back to the original spaces and having survived the fires. A piano is tucked in the corner. And the cool upper level holds rows of bookcases and a floor made of glass to let in light from all of the large windows (to make up for the lack of electricity).

Whether you work downtown or are just visiting, treat yourself and escape to this unbelievable spot. I promise, when you take a look at the guest speakers and the wonderful events, you will want to come again!

My friend Amy Hunter will be happy to show you around and tell you about all the great upcoming events. Join their Facebook page to keep up or sign up for emails.

Tips…
• Ask to see the books that date back to the 1600s.
•  Look for the special “seal” embossed on page 21 of every book.
•  On occasion, they have great podcasts featuring book discussions with the author.
•  They have great discussion groups on the first Wednesday of every month. This is basically a book club with different leaders and is at noon…so you can have your lunch and a book discussion, and you don’t have to clean your house and make appetizers.  Bonus!  Members are free, and you can bring a guest.
•  Yoga for members! (Your Mercantile membership is a heck of a lot cheaper than a gym…and no meatheads!!)

Special events…

Check the link below for the many cool upcoming events!
• https://mercantilelibrary.com/calendar/

• 414 Walnut St. #1100

• Monday – Tuesday 9:00a.m.- 5:00p.m. , Wednesday 9:00a.m.-7:00p.m. , Thursday- Friday 9:00a.m.-5:30p.m., Saturday 10:00am-3:00p.m