Located on the 11th floor of the Mercantile Library Building at 414 Walnut St., downtown, this is one of the oldest places in Cincinnati, and it looks it. The portrait paintings and marble busts in the room are part of the oldest public art collection in the city, and the books in the carved bookcases date back more than two centuries. My business is like living in a pin-ball machine. There are no ringing phones here. I come here for refuge, to recharge my batteries and to read the old books.
Most programs are open to the public, but use of the collection is restricted to members.
Anyone may become a member. Barbara Ahting, a downtown worker who lunches and reads here four or five days a week, agrees. This place is a well-kept secret, and I hope it stays that way. Those who come to the library for a quiet hour often find a meeting, lecture or concert during the noon hour. The library started bringing major authors to Cincinnati to lecture in the 1840s.