“font-family: Verdana;”>January 6, 1912 was a defining moment for the city of
On this day, nearly 1,000 civic, community and business leaders
came to be a part of the dedication ceremonies of the Central
Branch of The St. Louis Public Library.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The presentation – made possible in part by Andrew Carnegie – would ignite the flame of knowledge sparked by the curiosity of citizens and prove itself to be an iconic presence among St. Louis landmarks and continue as the city blazed through the 20th century and laid foundation for the 21st.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>A century later (nearly to the day), it is only right that the St. Louis Public Library facilitate a celebration that will stretch across the area through the branches that come together to create one of the most revered public library systems in the nation.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The hope was to do so at Central, but creating the new state of the art facility has taken longer than expected.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We still wanted to celebrate that 100th anniversary and decided that we did not want to miss that particular day,” said Gerald Brooks, director of Marketing and Public Relations for the St. Louis Public Library.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We wanted to inform people of the historical significance of this building and figured the most exciting way – and to have the entire city participate – was to have things going on at all of the branches.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>From as far south as Carondelet and as far north as Baden, the order of the day will include entertainment under the premise of a historical journey back to the beginning of the Central Branch.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Guests will travel back to the first decade beyond the turn of the century thanks to storytelling, musical showcases, exhibits, displays and children’s activities.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The whole idea is to celebrate the era,” Brooks said. “ “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>We want people to know all about what was going on at the time Central Library came about – what kind of games did kids play and what people did for entertainment.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>According to Brooks, another important element that he hopes to impress upon guests at the celebration is the strong connection between the St. Louis Public Library’s Central Branch and the African-American community.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I was interviewing a senior citizen for a newsletter article and she told me that Central Library was one of the places that African Americans could go to and not have to worry about being discriminated against,” Brooks said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“African Americans have played a major role in supporting the Central Library over the course of its history, and in return the library has supported the community.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And to its credit, Central’s comprehensive Black History Month programming, storytelling and speaker series’ have featured some of the most iconic figures in African-American history and literature – Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Walter Moseley and St. Louis’ own Maya Angelou, to name a few.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It’s just been a fascinating ride when it comes to the distinguished African Americans that we have had here at Central Library,” Brooks said. “So for us, we could not have a celebration that didn’t feature African Americans.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>So when the system-wide celebration kicks off next Saturday afternoon, the contributions of Annie Malone, Maggie Walker and the music of Scott Joplin will be among the activities that highlight the identity of St. Louis and the nation back in 1912 – when the landscape of downtown St. Louis was forever changed thanks to the learning tree that was planted via the Central Branch.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>100 years after Central’s beginnings, The St. Louis Public Library stands as the second best public library system in the United States. And when the Central Branch reopens (hopefully during the 100th anniversary year) the growth and service to the St. Louis community will continue thanks to the awe-inspiring extreme makeover.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“When Central reopens, people will be stepping 20 years into the future on the first floor and into St. Louis history on the third,” Brooks said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Central Library is going to be one of the destination places downtown –– where people can be entertained, see shows and featured speakers, in addition to picking up a book. It’s going to be one of those places people go when they say, ‘What do I want to do today?’”
The
system-wide celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the
Central Branch will take place beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday,
Jan. 7. For more information and a full schedule of activities and
participating branches, visit
“http://www.slpl.org/”>www.slpl.org
