$21 million worth of renovations almost complete at historic Braddock Carnegie Library
The
renovations of the historic Braddock Carnegie Library
are almost complete.
The library has been closed for the past two and a half years. The Braddock Carnegie Library Association is celebrating its 136th anniversary on March 30.
Crews were hard at work on Friday making sure the $21 million renovation is ready for opening day.
"We are very excited to get this project finished and wrapped up and be open to the public again," said Vicki Vargo, the executive director of the Braddock Carnegie Library Association.
There's literally a light at the end of the tunnel for Vargo and the people at the BCLA. Vargo says the contrast is striking.
"There are uniform lights in here," she said. "We don't have to worry about, 'OK, that takes a fluorescent tube, we gotta get other kinds of light for this.' It is really a welcome sight to see the windows."
Another welcome sight is that of new elevators inside.
"If you've ever tried to carry tables and chairs or books up and down the steps, it's not very easy," Vargo said. "We just called it the Carnegie workout."
It's just one part of making the library Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. You'll see new ramps as well.
"It took a lot to make this building more accessible," Vargo said.
"It's a monumental task," said Thomas Eger, the superintendent at Jendoco Construction Corporation.
Transforming the music hall is also a monumental task.
"You never know what you're gonna run into in this building," Eger said.
"We've had inquiries for people who want to rent it, and we're not open yet," Vargo said.
When all the scaffolding goes away, the music hall will be able to host up to 500 people. It will also have new sound and lighting equipment.
"There will be less seats but they will be more comfortable seats," Vargo said.
There's also a new room called the "Book Dive."
"That was previously a space that everybody wanted us to convert back into a swimming pool," Vargo said.
Vargo says making it a pool again wasn't feasible. It'll be a reception space now, with open space and windows looking outside. It's also being made ADA accessible.
"If we had a wedding, this can be part of — come here for the cocktails before the bride and groom arrives," Vargo said.
There's a big focus on helping use some of these spaces to support the BCLA's operations.
"We're looking forward to developing some type of rental plan that will help to sustain us," Vargo said.
There's also an emphasis on malleability.
"Other than the ceramics studio, we don't have any room that cannot be used for something else," Vargo said. "Realizing that things will change in the next 10 years, 20 years, the building will be ready for that."
It's a library steeped in history. Vargo says it signifies a Braddock comeback.
"I think this building is an example of the people of this community. Yes, we've been thrown a curveball a lot of times, but we still bounce back," she said.
The library is supposed to reopen to the public in May. May 22 is the targeted ribbon cutting.
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