Established in 1864, it is the biggest library in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The monument served as the house of legislative assembly in the British Raj when Allahabad was the capital of the United Provinces. In 1879, the Public library was shifted to the present premises at Chandrashekhar Azad Park. The building known as Thornhill Mayne Memorial is situated at Alfred Park[5] and was designed by Richard Roskell Bayne in Scottish Baronial architecture with sharp pillars and turrets of granite and sandstone.