Midland Library, 3 May 2023 (With Closeups)

4095

The prep of the site seems to continue at a steady pace though not at breakneck speed. Not only has the interior been gutted but also parts are beginning to disappear from the outside.

Here's the overview:

If I understand the design I've seen, the east, and south sides (you see the east side on the right, here) are going to remain and the building is expanding to the north and the west. Good thing; there are lovely poetry verses on the east side, bracketing that window.

Two details caught my eye.

One can be seen here. Note the two large flat russet-red squares on the right there, as seen through the fence directly below the no-trespassing and danger signs. 

Another pair of them can be seen n the far left. In the middle of the picture is where two of them used to be. Before this evolution each one of those had a concrete tile with a bas relief of some sort of biology ... the curling of a fern frond, a tree leaf. They're gone, obvs. I hope there's room in the new design.

And, here's a detail of the old main entry. The truck is parked approximately where the clock tower porch (of which we still mourn) was. The plywood immediately behind it plugs a hole which used to serve as the book return. 

There were two: a traditional chute, and this straight-up cyberpunk automated return slot which was kind of fun to use, in a 2001-Open-the-pod-pay-doors-HAL sort of way.