As bankruptcy predators began salivating over publicly owned treasures in Detroit–namely, the assets\u00a0 of the Detroit Institute of Art–I was visiting the newly renovated, taxpayer-supported St. Louis Central Public Library. The $70 million renovation–funded to the tune of a $50 million bond issue, with $20 million more in private donations–has elevated a fading public asset\u00a0 into a state-of-the-art city gem. Using the original bones of the 100-year old building, designed in the early 1900s by Cass Gilbert, the renovators have kept all of the exterior walls intact, while rethinking the old, dark stacks, restoring natural light, rejuvenating the magnificent ceilings, opening up big new public spaces, and generally creating an exciting, inviting place for exploring and learning.<\/p>\n
I am obliged to admit, here, that as a suburbanite, before today’s tour, I hadn’t set foot inside the downtown library in at least two decades. So, I’m far from an expert on the place, and I’m eight months tardy in touring the renovation. [[It reopened, after a two year shutdown for the life-changing renovations, in December 2012 to celebrate its centennial.] Like other suburban residents, I had driven past it and\/or parked near it many times, when I went downtown for the kinds of events non-city-dwellers travel to: Cardinals’ baseball games, a visit to the Gateway Arch, and special events. But going inside to do research or just look around was not my thing–especially in the dawning of the Google age–and when a perfectly adequate, suburban library was within five minutes of my house.<\/p>\n
But earlier this year [2013], when the downtown library renovation started getting rave reviews, I knew it was time to make the trip–an easy 25-minute drive that I hadn’t bothered to take in so many years.<\/p>\n
Our tour group was led by a very knowledgeable docent–a chemist by profession–who reminded us about the private-public partnership of the early 1900s that gave birth to the St. Louis Public Library system in what was then America’s fourth largest city. It all started with good old Andrew Carnegie, who provided the initial funds for many of the municipal libraries around the country–a lot of which are still standing as the biggest buildings in many small towns. After Carnegie kickstarted things in St. Louis, the citizenry got involved and passed a property tax to provide public funds for an asset then widely regarded as essential to the cultural and educational health of the city.<\/p>\n