CLEVELAND — Building bridges... Breaking barriers.
It's not just a catchy theme.
It is precisely what Dr. King tried to do right here in Northeast Ohio.
So it is only fitting that the Cleveland public library is building a new state-of-the-art facility in honor of the civil rights icon.
It is nestled in a corner of one of the most important crossroads of America. Perhaps even of the world because Cleveland's University Circle is like no other landscape on the globe. More cultural, medical, and educational institutions are in about one square mile than anywhere else.
Now add another cultural gemstone. Under construction is a new Cleveland Public Library Martin Luther King branch to soon replace the old one.
"Thirty-thousand square feet of new collections, programming, A/V technology, community gathering space and performing spaces," said John Lang, who is in charge of the library system's buildings and grounds.
Lang was part of a walk-through of the new building still under construction. It is lifting out of the soil next to the old branch. This is a 20.5 million dollar project, part of a sweeping 100 million dollar upgrade of all the system's branches. The new MLK branch is designed as a centering point in the Cleveland cultural hub.
Library Executive Director and CEO Felton Thomas likes the idea of having a major footprint among all the major institutions in University Circle. "Cleveland Public Library is an institution of the level of our great institutions," Thomas said.
Often referred to as the "People's University" for its free access, Thomas emphasizes how the library is a storehouse of knowledge and a place of gathering. There will be a first-floor space for performances and community events. As we walked through the structure, now filled with construction equipment, visible were references to the civil rights work of Martin Luther King.
There are King's words and philosophy carved into the building's foundation. Next door in the current MLK Branch where I spoke with Thomas and library supporter Cuyahoga County executive Chris Ronayne about the new building and how it is inspired by the great civil rights leader.
"The legacy of Dr. King remains in the city of Cleveland through the Cleveland Public Library as an opportunity for our young people to learn about Dr. King's history for many generations to come," said Thomas.
"Have conversations between races, people of all faces, people of all different age cohorts. That's something we can really work on with matters of justice," said Ronayne.
Over the generations, libraries have evolved into more than collections of literature or videos. Increasingly they have become gathering spaces. Both Thomas and Ronayne envision the new branch as a bridge to connect people so they can gather and express their ideas with each other.
"The library is the community gathering space. It's the foundation for the building," said Ronayne.
The idea is to make the MLK library a community space in more ways than one. Above the library itself will be nine floors of apartment living. Apartments on top of the library. All of this makes the facility a gemstone in University Circle Uptown.
Here things indeed are looking up. Among the new growing in this culturally fertile soil is the state-of-the-art MLK branch of the Cleveland Public Library. It is expected to open in January 2025, appropriately on Martin Luther King Day.
