St. Louis Central Library Reopening: First Lines

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The entirely new north entrance to the library opens onto a room that has recessed ovals in the ceiling. Each contains the first line of a book. The top one is from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The words below are the opening of The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene. Both quotes give us something to reflect on after the events of Friday in Connecticut.

Not Today

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I could not prepare an ordinary post after what happened in my country yesterday. The grief and anger are too great. It feels unreal, twisted, but I don't think it will ever stop.

So I offer a lament, the saddest music I know. Just the first movement, 19.5 minutes, if you care to listen that long.   

St. Louis Central Library Reopening: Old Design Restored

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The interior of the 1912 Central Branch Library contained a sampler of architectural styles. Much of it has been lovingly restored, yet enhanced with modern technology.

I'm afraid that I buzzed through the building rather quickly, grabbing images rather than learning the purpose of each room. The top image, though, is the transept inside the main entrance. The stairs lead up to the pair of large stained glass windows, one of which we saw a few days ago.

The second picture is something of a great hall. Not exactly a main reading room - it doesn't have any books - and I suspect that the library would like to rent it as event space. Since the library is ten minutes walk from my office, I can see the possibility of going there to get some work done without interruption.

The next two rooms are notable for their ceilings. I don't know enough to identify the style of the green and gold molding, but a staff member told me it was made of painted plaster. The last room has a decorated wood beam ceiling in a Renaissance style.

Other parts pf the library are quite modern. The transition can be jarring but the new parts are, in their own way, just as powerful. Some of that tomorrow.     

St. Louis Central Library Reopening: 20th Century Art

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Almost all of the 20th Century art I saw in the library was from the 1930s. That's a strong suggestion that the works were part of the many federally-financed arts projects during the Great Depression.

The first two images are from a painting called Adult Education. That was one of the main reasons for libraries according to the spirit of the day. If I remember correctly the painting was dated 1936.

The third image is a mosaic on a fireplace in the children's room. It's a little difficult to decipher. My guess is that it shows a Native American man building and/or using a fire. I had to zoom way in on the original to see small inscriptions on the bottom of each of the three main panels. The best I can tell is that the first two contain the letters DS and the third the number 38, probably referring to 1938.

The last is a painting of the Mississippi River, seen from a wooded hilltop. It's called Rival of the Rhine. Wrong. I've seen the Rhine and it is nowhere near as magnificent as the Mississippi.     

St. Louis Central Library Reopening: 19th Century Art

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There is a lot of interesting art around the restored library. No idea how much of this was on display before the project began. I could only shoot parts of what's now on the walls because of the crowds.

The first piece is a illustration of the downtown waterfront in 1855. Almost no resemblance to what it looks like today. The only link is the dome in the center, the top of what we now call The Old Courthouse. All of the surrounding warehouses and tenements were cleared out for the Arch's park in the middle 1960s. 

I didn't see any date on the second picture. Propeller screws replaced paddle wheels for propulsion some time in the 19th Century. Any St. Louisan knows that the building in the background is the Anheuser-Busch brewery and that opened in 1852. 

We will go a century forward tomorrow.   

St. Louis Central Library Reopening: Ceremony

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It's a public event so there had to be speeches by dignitaries and officials. Among those present were Mayor Francis Slay (above center). library executive director Walter McGuire (above right and bottom photo), Alderwoman Phyllis Young, whose ward includes downtown, Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed (fourth picture, right center) and alderman Freeman Bosley, who has been on the board longer than anyone can remember (fourth picture, right).

McGuire mentioned that when the library first opened in 1912, the speeches went on for three hours. Attention spans are shorter these days.

We go inside tomorrow.

Artes Litterae

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Artes Litterae - literary arts - are one of the foundations of libraries. The Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, established in 1912, had its reopening yesterday and, ladies and gentlemen, it is spectacular. Literature and anything else you could want in print abounds. The architecture is stunning.

I took a lot of pictures, maybe enough for this whole week. These are a first few edits. Above, one of a pair of stained glass windows at the top of the twin staircases leading up from the the central hall. We'll get to the other one. The second picture was shot in the main conference room. It appears that a few details still need to be straightened out. At the bottom, one of a set of huge - what? - Gummi Bears? - that welcome visitors to the children's room.

Lots more to edit.