I went to the Phoenix Public Library today. The place is a work of art. Not to mention all the books it contains. The elevator shafts are like individual light boxes. I thought about taking out the camera to snap a picture, but thought it a bit tacky, but the more I think about it, the more I wish I had. Could'a, should'a, would'a. Story of my life.
Floor one, reference materials. Floor two, law books, government publications, and car manuals (kind of pithy in my mind). Floor three, staff only. One of the walls on this floor is bright green, like grass got lost and found a home on the wall. Floor four, teen central. There is a miniature "old world" library. One with no electronic filing system. Just card files stacked on top of each other. It reminded me of elementary school. It even smelled like my old elementary school. Kind of musty mixed with sweaty children. Floor five is my favorite. As you come up the stairs and around the corner, you see something very unexpected, the entire north end of the city, impeded only by rows and rows of illuminated reading desks. They have an odd glow about them, almost a mustard color. It' magnificent, especially at night. It's a great place to take a date. Cheap and beautiful. The library, not your date.
This floor is also my favorite because there are rows and rows of art books on the west side. I could, and did, sit there for a few hours just gazing in wonder. Just as I thought I'd found a book I could concentrate on, another passed through my fingers as I drug them across the shelves. The Big Book of Art. Bauhaus Movement. Contemporary Artists. Art Through the Ages. No end in site.
Floor one, reference materials. Floor two, law books, government publications, and car manuals (kind of pithy in my mind). Floor three, staff only. One of the walls on this floor is bright green, like grass got lost and found a home on the wall. Floor four, teen central. There is a miniature "old world" library. One with no electronic filing system. Just card files stacked on top of each other. It reminded me of elementary school. It even smelled like my old elementary school. Kind of musty mixed with sweaty children. Floor five is my favorite. As you come up the stairs and around the corner, you see something very unexpected, the entire north end of the city, impeded only by rows and rows of illuminated reading desks. They have an odd glow about them, almost a mustard color. It' magnificent, especially at night. It's a great place to take a date. Cheap and beautiful. The library, not your date.
This floor is also my favorite because there are rows and rows of art books on the west side. I could, and did, sit there for a few hours just gazing in wonder. Just as I thought I'd found a book I could concentrate on, another passed through my fingers as I drug them across the shelves. The Big Book of Art. Bauhaus Movement. Contemporary Artists. Art Through the Ages. No end in site.
