The Arlington Hills Library, built nearly a century ago on the East Side with funds from steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, closed its doors for good Saturday.

The library, one of three Carnegie libraries in St. Paul, is being replaced with a new library that will open in May as part of the Arlington Hills Community Center at Payne and Maryland Avenues.

Library staffers will move materials to the new building in the next few weeks.

The city is seeking a new owner for the old library, a brick-and-stone Beaux Arts structure built in 1916 at Greenbrier Street and Jessamine Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Possible reuses for the old library — subject to preservation requirements — include coffee bar, museum, learning facility, clinic, art space or cultural center. It was valued at $365,000.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

@KDuchschere