According to Dell Wilson, partner in charge of this project from the architectural firm Uihlein Wilson Architects, work on the historic downtown library had been going on since 1992. The final stage of the three-phase project has just been completed.
"In a broad view, our goal was to upgrade the library and its service to its patrons, but we were also being sensitive to a beautiful historic building," Wilson said. "The library was originally built in 1896, featuring a limestone exterior and marble staircases in the main rotunda. Small additions were made over the years, such as a major contemporary north annex, which was attached to the main structure in the 1950s."