St. Louis Public Library

Front of the St. Louis Public Library

Last weekend was a big one for libraries in the St. Louis area. In addition to the reopening of the newly remodeled Webster Groves Public Library which was discussed in my last post, the main branch of the St. Louis Public Library held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday. Following two years of construction the 1912 Carnegie library's $70 million renovation was revealed to the public.

I had been in the library a couple of times in the past to do some house history and land research, and had admired the beauty of the architecture. But this renovation has really transformed the place, opening up some original detailing that had long ago been covered up. An additional 50,000 square feet has been made available as public space, including a large auditorium. With all of the people at the event, it was hard to take everything in. I only had my point and shoot camera with me as I anticipated that they would not allow cameras. I definitely will go back with my DSLR camera and get some more photos. And I am eager to explore the history and genealogy section of the library as well.

one of the ceilings

another ceiling

a third ceiling

original file cabinets

in the teen area

outside the children's area

one of the stained glass windows

lamp base outside

How blessed I am to live in an area that treasures not only public libraries but also the historic buildings that contain their holdings.

Webster Groves Library

Webster Groves Library front

Several years ago the citizens in my community voted for a tax levy to fund an addition to our local library. Though we have had a library of some sort in Webster Groves since 1890, the existing building was constructed in 1951. Over the years the auditorium was re-purposed as the area for children leaving no space for author visits, educational seminars or community meetings. Existing technology was also a little behind the times. Construction began on the remodeling and addition over a year ago, and the library reopened to the public last Monday. I ran in to take some photographs (and check out a few books), and I am just amazed at the transformation. I am usually a little cool towards uber modern additions on old buildings, but the new space is open, airy and spacious. I can't even imagine how happy the staff must be in their new surroundings. Here are some of the photos I took.

Webster Groves Library rear

new atrium

reading room

seating area

children's area

rocking chairs

children's seating area

The official ribbon cutting and open house was on Saturday morning, so Jim and I went to it so that he could see the changes. It is always interesting to go to something like that with him as he has a different perspective on buildings than I do since he has a design degree. He agreed that it was a remarkable improvement. Now I am eager to go back and take a closer look at the reference room and materials. I think there may be some things I can find on my Shrewsbury research there, and I am always looking for house research resources that I can add to my Webster Groves House Research Facebook page.
 

Webster Holiday House Tour

Christmas Stocking

My friend and I went on the Webster Holiday House Tour today. It is the major fundraiser of the middle school here and is always a wonderful event. I actually co-chaired the tour the two years that Katie was at the school. What a huge job! I have a lot of respect for the (mostly) ladies who organize house tours. There are always at least six houses on the tour, and they have a boutique with refreshments at a different location during the tour hours. At each of the houses 7th and 8th grade students play musical instruments.

The weather, of course, was perfect today. I was expecting it to be way more crowded than it actually ended up to be. We were able to walk to a number of the houses, and it was great to be in a short sleeved shirt. Two of the houses even had their air conditioners on! Who could have imagined 70+ degree weather in December! We toured four houses before heading to Eden Seminary for some cookies and punch. Our timing was great and we got to hear the male and female a capella groups from the high school perform. That is always entertaining. Then we hit the last two houses and headed home.

Seeing all the pretty decorations made me feel like I am way behind schedule. I need to start dragging my Christmas stuff out of the basement and get cracking. Ho, ho, ho...