The Downtown Main Library has started its major building improvement project that will take approximately 18 months to complete! This work is happening as part of CHPL's Facility Master Plan to better serve minds of all kinds.
In the first phase of the Downtown Main Library building improvement project, the skylight and elevators in the South Building are being replaced. These have all come to the end of their lifespans. Crews are constructing a crane on Saturday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 22, so the skylight can be replaced, a project that is estimated to continue through December.
Due to crane construction, the following interruptions are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 22, at the Downtown Main Library:
- Ninth Street between Vine Street and Walnut Street is closed to street traffic and pedestrian traffic.
- The Downtown Main Library's drive-thru is closed. Instead, customers can pick up their materials curbside on Eighth between Walnut and Vine streets. Call 513-369-6900 to request curbside service.
- The Downtown Main Library's parking lots are closed.
The Downtown Main Library is open to customers on Saturday, Aug. 21, and is offering curbside service on Sunday, Aug. 22.
- To access the North Building, use the Children's Garden entrance at the corner of 9th and Vine Street.
- To access the South Building, use the Walnut Street entrance.
- Handicapped parking meters are available on Eighth Street.
We apologize for the inconvenience this work may cause. If the work is completed on Saturday, the drive-thru re-opens, otherwise the road remains closed on Sunday.
What's Next at the Downtown Main Library
If you have been inside the Downtown Main Library recently, you have seen that scaffolding is being built directly underneath the skylight in the South Building. Once the scaffolding inside the building is complete, crews are constructing a "roofing bathtub" and the South Building and Vine Street entrance are closed to customers and staff for approximately 18 months.
The atrium closure is expected to take place in late September, at which time materials and library services from the South Building are being moved to the North Building so service can continue during construction.
Work also begins this month, work also begins to disassemble the book sculpture and fountain on the Downtown Main Library's Vine Street Plaza and move it to temporary storage. This is an important early step that needs to happen before more substantial renovations on the Vine Street Plaza can begin. The book sculpture is being reinstalled on the renovated plaza later in the project.
We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to bring you improved spaces. The feedback the community provided throughout the Facility Master Plan development process in 2019 is informing this work. We’re grateful to voters who passed a 1 mil levy in 2018 that is helping to fund these improvements.
Visit the Building the Next Generation — Downtown Main Library page for project updates and photos.
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