ABOVE: Interior of the Central Express library in the Old Post Office
Despite being just four blocks east of the newly renovated Central Library, a majority of readers think the Central Express located in the Old Post Office should remain open:
Q: Should The “Express” Library In The Old Post Office Be Closed?
No, keep it open 58 [54.21%]
Yes, when the existing lease expires 26 [24.3%]
Unsure/no opinion 14 [13.08%]
Yes, immediately 7 [6.54%]
Other: 2 [1.87%]
The two other answers were:
yes, after a new tenant can be found, NLT 1 year
How many patrons use the Express daily? What’s it cost to keep it open?
Given the perceived barrier of crossing Tucker I can see an advantage of an express location to server the central business district.
I think the library should compare usage in 2013 to 2012 to see any changes following the reopening of Central. Once the lease is up I could see the express location moving further east so it is closer to more office workers.
Last week readers indicated in the poll the millions spent renovating the Central Library was a good investment. The results are at the very end but I want to show you some areas where the library has changed. I was fortunate to tour the library with the AIA St. Louis last week, many photos below.
The library reopens to the public on Sunday December 9, 2012 so you can see in person then.
ABOVE: Main facade of the Central Library by Cass Gilbert
First we need to understand how the central library was designed. From the sidewalk it appears to be a solid mass, but that is not the case.
ABOVE: Central Library undergoing renovation as viewed from the roof of the Park Pacific, May 2011ABOVE: The grand hall is in the center with connections to all four outer sides/wings. The stacks wing on the north side was very a modern contrast to the rest of the building in 1912.
So now you know how the building is organized around the grand hall, let’s head inside.
ABOVE: The lower level entry under the prominent south entrance is no longer open.ABOVE: The north facade prior to renovation, the stacks aren’t visible through the frosted glass.ABOVE: Now the stacks and atrium are visible to everyone.ABOVE: Looking east we can see the new Locust Street entry to the library with the Shell Building in the backgroundABOVE: Waller McGuire, director of the St. Louis Pubic Library, heads back to his office across 14th Street. A water feature divides the sidewalk from the entry.ABOVE: Looking out from the new glass entry vestibule.ABOVE: The atrium in the former stacks area is a very modern and welcoming area.ABOVE: The glass wall behind the Locust St circulation desk was made from the old glass floors in the 7-story stacks areaABOVE: An information board explains the changes to the central stacks areaABOVE: One photo gives you a before glimpse of the stacks with the glass floor walkways. This area was never open to the general public.ABOVE: Looking up we can see the stacks on upper levelsABOVE: This space will now face a cafe, not all furniture had arrived yetABOVE: Adjacent to the cafe is a room for book club meetingsABOVE: And self checkout is now an optionABOVE: New public space was created in the once-dark basement levelABOVE: This auditorium was created where the former coal storage room was locatedABOVE: The children’s area is in the same spot as before but new activity areas added and the old outside entrance is just an emergency exitABOVE: The Stedman Architectural Library is unchanged, it is still by appointment only.ABOVE: The 3rd floor Carnegie Room is one of several meeting rooms in the library.ABOVE: From the 3rd floor you can see the gap between the outer wings and grand hall (right)ABOVE: The stacks remain in the stacks section of the building but by using movable shelves they occupy less space.ABOiVE: The staff lounge has a great view of Lucas Park located across Locust St.
Still here? Below are the poll results:
Q: $70 Million To Renovate The Central Library A Good Investment?
Yes 113 [73.38%]
No 17 [11.04%]
Maybe 13 [8.44%]
Unsure/No Opinion 10 [6.49%]
Other “too much money but needed some renovation”: 1 [0.65%]
I was nervous about changing the library, the impact of so much money could’ve been a bad thing. In the end I think we’ve made a great investment for the next 100 years. St. Louisans in 2112 can decide what to do next.
Next month the Central Library will reopen after being closed for nearly two and a half years:
Central Library is in the midst of a $70 million dollar restoration and renovation. Over four million books and other items were moved out of the building for safekeeping and reorganization before this enormous project could begin. Central Library will reopen late in 2012 – a century after it first opened to the public – as a great research and community library for the 21st century. (slpl,org)
It reopens to the public on Sunday December 9, 2012.
ABOVE: Main facade of the Central Library, November 17, 2012
From July 2010:
The city of St. Louis closed on the sale of $65 million in bonds June 30, clearing the way for construction on the nearly century-old facility to begin later this summer. (St. Louis Business Journal)
The remaining funds were raised privately through the library foundation. The new library will be quite different than what generations have known, the old central stack area behind the scenes no longer has the glass walkways and administrative offices moved to a newer building to the west, freeing up more public space.
With Carnegie’s $1,000,000 grant St. Louis built seven libraries — six branches and the central (source). I read somewhere Carnegie told other cities to not do like St. Louis did — putting a large percentage in one building. Today some might say $65 million in public bonds might have been better spent if spread around to the many infrastructure needs of the city. Others say such an institution is critical to our future.
The poll question this week asks if this was a good investment? The poll is in the upper right sidebar.
ABOVE: Missouri's top high school, Metro Academic & Classical High School at 4015 McPherson in the City of St. Louis
Metro Academic & Classical High School in the St. Louis Pubic School system is the top high school in the state (prior post)! It’s student body is also selected from the best in the city, not just any kid can attend. Of course, this is a major factor in producing the outstanding results.
The poll results and the comments varied widely, as one might expect:
Q: Assume You Have Kids: Would You Send Your Kid To The Top High School In The Region/Missouri If You Could? BTW: It’s Metro Academic and Classical High School
Sure, no problem 39 [42.39%]
No way, it’s part of St. Louis Public Schools 14 [15.22%]
Yes, that’s where they go! 13 [14.13%]
Maybe 12 [13.04%]
Other: 8 [8.7%]
Unsure/no opinion 6 [6.52%]
The #1 & #3 answers represent for than half those that took the poll. The “other” answers were:
Private
Yes, that’s his alma mater
of course, but why such success at this location and not others?always wondered?
They would go to the closest High School to the house
Loaded poll alert! Please make them more interesting in the future.
If I had kids they would go there.
Only sending kids to private schools
onlt if I couldn’t afford to send them to one of our great catholic schools
The purpose of the poll was to spark some discussion around education, which it did.
Fourteen high schools in Missouri made Newsweek’s list of Top 1,000 High Schools for 2012. All but one were in the St. Louis metropolitan area. No Metro East high school made the list.
To generate the overall rankings, we factored in six criteria. Three make up 75 percent of the overall score—the four-year graduation rate, college-acceptance rate, and number of AP and other high-level exams given per student. Average SAT/ACT scores and AP/college-level test scores count for another 10 percent each, and the number of AP courses offered per student counts for the final 5 percent. Because most of these data aren’t available from a central source, we collected it by reaching out directly to high-school administrators directly. 15,000 were contacted, and 2300 responded.
Below is a list of all 14 Missouri high schools on the list and where they ranked. The first two listed earned spots in the Top 20 High Schools in the Midwest.
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