Carnegie Public Library, 33-35 Hamilton Road, Motherwell

The Carnegie Public Library, located at 33-35 Hamilton Road in Motherwell, was designed by Grieg, Fairburn and Macriwen and completed in 1903. This two-storey, five-bay building features a rectangular plan and showcases the Edwardian Baroque architectural style. The library has a pedimented central bay, a piend and platform roof, a lantern, and urn finials at the corners of the roof. It is constructed of yellow ashlar sandstone, with a base course, a dividing band between the first and second storeys, an eaves course, a mutulated projecting cornice, and an ashlar parapet. The openings are adorned with moulded, lugged architraves.

On the northwest (principal) elevation, the symmetrical three-bay central block features stone steps leading to a two-leaf, panelled door within a slightly advanced porch. The porch has chamfered corner piers carved with husked swags and an inscription above the door that reads "LET THERE BE LIGHT." To the right, there is a tripartite window with pilastered stone-mullions, while to the left is a bipartite window flanked by single narrow windows, with a small tripartite window above. The second storey has a plinth supporting a balustraded semicircular arch window at the centre, flanked by engaged Ionic columns and a broken pediment above with a mask in the tympanum. The outer bays feature balustraded Venetian windows with central shields. A slightly recessed two-bay block is located on the far right, displaying regular fenestration with projecting keystones. On the far left, a slightly recessed single-storey, two-bay block includes a bipartite window on the ground floor right, a bipartite window with a segmentally-arched pediment breaking the eaves, and a single window to the left, along with a door on the left return.

The southeast (rear) elevation was not visible in 2001. The northeast (side) elevation consists of three bays, with a single-storey advanced bay featuring console brackets and a coped wallhead stack. The southwest (side) elevation also has three bays, with a single window on the ground floor left and paired windows on the first floor, along with a bracketed, coped wallhead stack. A bull-faced bay is located to the right, with tripartite windows, and there is a single-storey, three-bay wing on the outer right.

Inside, the library retains original timber panelling in the vestibule, lobby, and stairwell, although all principal rooms have been gutted and refitted. The building features modern double-glazed windows, grey slates, lead flashing, and a timber baluster on the platform. A tall, polygonal lantern with a copper bell-capped roof and weather vane finial adds to the structure's distinctive character, along with cast-iron rainwater goods.