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McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi
McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi. Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0
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McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi. Photo: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi,_2025_(01).jpg
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McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi

Nairobi, Kenya, 1931

Closed for restoration from June 2026; phase 1 planned to run to October

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The record

Worth knowing

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: A Nation columnist says McMillan entertained Winston Churchill and President Theodore Roosevelt at his Chiromo house.

    secondarymwananchi.co.tz
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: A Nation columnist says McMillan entertained Winston Churchill and President Theodore Roosevelt at his Chiromo house.
Source: https://mwananchi.co.tz/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/the-life-and-times-of-mcmillan-library-4025098
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-1n3phyf
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: Library development in colonial Kenya followed racial lines. McMillan served Europeans only. Mombasa's Seif Bin Salim library and Nairobi's Desai Memorial Library, founded in 1942, were for Arabs and Asians respectively.

    secondarybeta.nation.co.ke
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: Library development in colonial Kenya followed racial lines. McMillan served Europeans only. Mombasa's Seif Bin Salim library and Nairobi's Desai Memorial Library, founded in 1942, were for Arabs and Asians respectively.
Source: https://beta.nation.co.ke/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/bleak-times-for-mcmillan-library-880280
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0om33r3
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: McMillan kept a pet lion on his Juja farm and hunted many others.

    secondarybookbunk.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: McMillan kept a pet lion on his Juja farm and hunted many others.
Source: https://bookbunk.org/findalibrary/library/mcmillan-memorial-library
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0c5l1nd
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: The story goes that Sir Northrup McMillan's coffin kept sticking in the mud on the way up Ol Donyo Sabuk, so Lady McMillan had him buried about halfway up.

    secondarymwananchi.co.tz
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: The story goes that Sir Northrup McMillan's coffin kept sticking in the mud on the way up Ol Donyo Sabuk, so Lady McMillan had him buried about halfway up.
Source: https://mwananchi.co.tz/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/the-life-and-times-of-mcmillan-library-4025098
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-07zxpdb
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: Tradition holds that Teddy Roosevelt and his son stole the two stone lions at the door from outside a Nairobi mosque after a night out. A Nation columnist doubts it, noting the plinths say Sir John Harrington gave them.

    secondarymwananchi.co.tz
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, worth knowing: Tradition holds that Teddy Roosevelt and his son stole the two stone lions at the door from outside a Nairobi mosque after a night out. A Nation columnist doubts it, noting the plinths say Sir John Harrington gave them.
Source: https://mwananchi.co.tz/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/the-life-and-times-of-mcmillan-library-4025098
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-1u04jjs
    Dispute#

Built

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, built: Officially opened 5 June 1931 by Sir Joseph A. Byrne

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, built: Officially opened 5 June 1931 by Sir Joseph A. Byrne
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0cf0pdr
    Dispute#

Architect

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, architect: Neo-classical design (English Wikipedia).

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, architect: Neo-classical design (English Wikipedia).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-16n89cr
    Dispute#

Volumes

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, volumes: More than 400,000 books including East African newspapers and periodicals dating back to 1901 (English Wikipedia).

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, volumes: More than 400,000 books including East African newspapers and periodicals dating back to 1901 (English Wikipedia).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0yrvm2f
    Dispute#

What remains

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, what remains: Closure to the public scheduled for June to October 2026 (The Standard)

    secondarystandardmedia.co.ke
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, what remains: Closure to the public scheduled for June to October 2026 (The Standard)
Source: https://standardmedia.co.ke/health/amp/arts-culture/article/2001551272/mcmillan-nairobis-oldest-library-shuts-doors-as-renovation-begins
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-08ikv6u
    Dispute#

Status today

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Largely financed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (English Wikipedia).

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Largely financed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (English Wikipedia).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0uwjbod
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Opened to the general public in 1962 (English Wikipedia)

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Opened to the general public in 1962 (English Wikipedia)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0xsr5ds
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Restricted to segregated use by European settlers until 1958 (Book Bunk)

    secondarybookbunk.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Restricted to segregated use by European settlers until 1958 (Book Bunk)
Source: https://bookbunk.org/libraries/mcmillan-memorial-library/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0qbx7m4
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Second oldest library in Kenya after the Seif bin Salim Library in Mombasa (English Wikipedia).

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Second oldest library in Kenya after the Seif bin Salim Library in Mombasa (English Wikipedia).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-1fbkuat
    Dispute#

  • McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Only building in Kenya covered by its own Act of Parliament (Book Bunk).

    secondarybookbunk.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, status today: Only building in Kenya covered by its own Act of Parliament (Book Bunk).
Source: https://bookbunk.org/libraries/mcmillan-memorial-library/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#f-0yqpltt
    Dispute#

What happened here

  1. 1931McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, opened, 1931: Opened 5 June 1931 by Governor Sir Joseph Byrne

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, opened, 1931: Opened 5 June 1931 by Governor Sir Joseph Byrne
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#e-0l4gfnj
    Dispute#

  2. 1962McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, opened, 1962: Opened to the general public (1962 per Wikipedia; Book Bunk says restrictions ended 1958)

    wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, opened, 1962: Opened to the general public (1962 per Wikipedia; Book Bunk says restrictions ended 1958)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Memorial_Library,_Nairobi
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#e-02cca6i
    Dispute#

  3. 2026McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, closed, 2026: Closed to the public for restoration, June 2026

    secondarystandardmedia.co.ke
    Cite
    McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, closed, 2026: Closed to the public for restoration, June 2026
Source: https://standardmedia.co.ke/health/amp/arts-culture/article/2001551272/mcmillan-nairobis-oldest-library-shuts-doors-as-renovation-begins
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/mcmillan/#e-17suaa5
    Dispute#

Photographs

The MacMillan Library, Nairobi, in a historic photograph from the Matson collection
The MacMillan Library, Nairobi, in a historic photograph from the Matson collection. Matson Collection, Public domain
Use this photo
The MacMillan Library, Nairobi, in a historic photograph from the Matson collection. Photo: Matson Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenya_Colony._Nairobi._The_MacMillan_Library,_closer_view_LOC_matpc.17580.jpg
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The columned front of the McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, with a minaret rising behind it
The columned front of the McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, with a minaret rising behind it. Nina R from Africa, CC BY 2.0
Use this photo
The columned front of the McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, with a minaret rising behind it. Photo: Nina R from Africa, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nairobi,_Kenya_(31199322530).jpg
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Sources