Connecting the Dots: Community Partners

We didn’t have to look far to find spaces for the Mini-Merc and some of our events. As a matter of fact, less than a block. But we did have to go back to 1902 for the last time we had to move out.

The Mini-Merc at Fifth Third Bank

William W. Scarborough founded what would become Fifth Third Bank in 1858. He’d already been a member of The Mercantile Library for thirteen years. Just about every president and many executives of the bank have belonged to the Library, including Oliver Perin, Charles Fleischmann, William S. Rowe, John J. Rowe, to current Regional President Timothy Elsbrock, and President and CEO Tim Spence.

Book Discussions at The Chamber

We (The Mercantile Library) founded the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce in 1839, and the Merchant’s Exchange, in 1846. They merged to become what is now The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce.

It’s Not Our First Rodeo, Uh, Renovation

1902 was the last time we vacated 414 Walnut Street for temporary quarters. Our landlords, Thomas J. Emery Sons, provided the temporary space in the Emery Hotel Annex, where Carew Tower currently sits. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, we built a slide to get boxes of books out of the Library to the street. Which sounds like an awful lot of fun.

We moved into our current space in 1904. We promise this project won’t take two years.