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Toronto Public Library Pilgrimage of 100 Branches

Centennial Library (1966): A Jewel Among the Pylons

2012

Tall pylons and chimney stacks near Bathurst and Finch provided the backdrop to Centennial Library, which stood in front of the Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre, a recreational facility.

2012

Beside the library’s entrance was a leggy sculpture by Ron Baird that I studied before entering a large square room with a central dividing wall that partly bisected the room.

2012

Windows comprised the majority of the library’s south-facing wall, and plenty of reading chairs invited patrons to take advantage of this open and well-illuminated space.

2012

On the first Saturday that I visited Centennial, every possible reading perch was occupied by patrons concentrating on their thoughts, goals, and lessons.

Books in French, Hebrew, Russian, Korean, Tagalog, and English offered opportunities for mental enrichment and self-improvement. And for those in search of lighter reading, the Romance section had Desert Ice Daddy and The Cowboy Wants a Baby.

The Children’s Area was on the west side of the central dividing wall and boasted a colourful spring scene made from paper. A long tree branch stretched across part of the west wall and presented its cherry blossoms to the viewer. A paper plate drenched in yellow served as the sun, and the cherry branch arched over a large mushroom that in turn sheltered a yellow bird under its eave.

2012

I enjoyed Centennial’s unpretentious cheeriness, and it struck me as a down-to-earth branch that provides helpful services to patrons who live in the surrounding high rise apartments. For example, on my second visit, I noticed more than a dozen clients had lined up before opening time on a Saturday to take advantage of free MAP passes. By ten past nine, the passes for Ontario Science Centre and Royal Ontario Museum had been snatched up.

2012

Even though I didn’t try for museum pass on that visit, I was grateful for the books and CD’s that Centennial Library lent me. Tucking the materials in a bag, I returned to the parking lot in the shadow of a mystically-looming Hydro pylon. And that was the end of my 73rd library visit!

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2015

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