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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita is getting ready to celebrate the centennial of a landmark library building that was constructed with a $75,000 grant from businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Fidelity Bank officials plan to celebrate the building beginning May 14, when the first book was officially checked out a century ago, The Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/1HNKOxC) reports. There also will be events in the fall, including concerts in the pocket park near the building.
For half a century, the building was a library. It later became a municipal court building and then the Wichita Omnisphere and Science Center. Now it is the commercial bankers division of Fidelity Bank. Although the building is not regularly open to the public, an open house is planned as part of the centennial festivities to give people a chance to tour it.
In its heyday, the library was one of nearly five dozen Carnegie-funded libraries built in Kansas. Of that number, less than half remain today. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
"The building, when it opened, was a historical event for citizens of Wichita," said Clark Bastian, Fidelity Bank chairman and CEO. "Wichitans were proud of this building, and this was a new cultural asset for the city.
"Of course, now we take libraries for granted, but 100 years ago, it was viewed as Wichita had arrived. This building represents one of the cultural breakouts for Wichita."
Bastian said that in recognition of the building's historic importance, exterior letters of "CITY LIBRARY" above the arched entrance will be outlined and painted in gold leaf. The paint will be applied within the next few weeks and is expected to last for up to 30 years.
"I am amazed at the numbers of people who never see the letters," Bastian said. "I thought that for a special occasion like the centennial, it would be fun to see those letters pop."
Then Bastian joked, "Of course, we may get some people wanting to come into the building and check out books when we do that."
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