There’s less of a time difference as I’ve moved out West (go
figure!) but I’m still writing this far too late at night then can possibly be
healthy. After a brief chance to explore Chicago I’ve taken the bus up to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and the next leg of my US libraries
tour...
I’ll give an update all about UW-Madison and their Ask a
Librarian service (which I’ve been finding out all about today) when I am
feeling a bit more alive but I just wanted to briefly mention Chicago’s superb Harold
Washington Public Library which is just a couple of doors down from the hostel
where I’m staying in Chi-Town. The building’s unique design was the result of a competition
which Harold Washington (the then Mayor of Chicago) organised back in 1987. A model of the building and of all the other entries can be found here. After a lot of travelling, it was a real joy to ascend a well-hidden rickety escalator
to the 9th floor and be confronted with one of the most magnificent
rooms I think I’ve ever seen in a library:
 |
| The grand atrium atop Chicago's Harold Washington Public Library |
It is a library which is clearly valued by the public of
Chicago, to the extent where unfortunately there has to be quite a significant security
presence on the door. As in Michigan (and without wanting to venture too deeply
into the politics of it all) public libraries in Illinois increasingly
find themselves providing an informal social care role in supporting their
patrons, yet encouragingly the Library’s key mantra of openness and inclusiveness to all is
still unquestionable.
Another marvel of architecture I saw yesterday was this Bahá’i Temple located on the North
Shore of the City with its 9-sided structure formed almost exclusively out of glass
and concrete:
 |
| This Baha'i Temple was completed in 1953 and has recently been restored |
 |
| A view of Chicagoland from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center (as I was too cheap to pay to visit the Observatory on the 96th floor!) |
No comments:
Post a Comment