Planning fun filled days in San Diego doesn’t take much effort, there is so much to see and do. So I was a little surprised when my sister suggested touring the San Diego Central Library (www.sandiegolibrary.org/).
“Library?” I asked.
“It’s supposed to be really neat.’’
“What’s so special about a library?’’
Now I love my library, I go there weekly but libraries as a whole aren’t tourist attractions. So it was hard to imagine why she wanted to tour it but hey, I was on vacation so library it was.
Now you have to understand that when San Diego does something, they do it right. As we drove down Park Blvd overlooking the bay and Petco Stadium, the modernistic steel and mesh dome dominated the skyline. The $185m library opened in 2013 and architect Rob Wellington Quigley designed the building to take advantage of light and space. The dome is the largest in the US at 143’ in diameter.
With a soaring three-story main atrium, gravity arch, cantilevered glass pods overlooking San Diego, themed floors and a charter high school on two levels (the only school in the country housed in a library), Central Library is an architectural masterpiece with over a million books, a technology center, Dr. Seuss themed children’s room, study areas, conference rooms, auditorium, rare book collection, outdoor garden, café, a rooftop sitting area, sculpture garden and art gallery; there is something for everyone. You can read about NASA space explorations, Congressional hearings, look up musical scores, listen to historical musical recordings, and find magazines that date back to the Civil War.
In addition, if you want to read the official report on JFK’s assassination—they have it; need to find information on patents—thousands are available; want to use a 3-D Makerbot replicator printer –they have it (actually there are two available and they are free plus a 3D scanner and printer); love baseball and its history—no problem–explore the Ted Williams Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research.
Artistic details are everywhere from the sinks in the first floor bathroom that are shaped like books, to the staircase to nowhere (outside and it really doesn’t go anywhere except up), a giant interactive crossword puzzle, a gift shop, a giant chess board in the lobby, really, there is a surprise on every floor. We saw a wonderful collection of miniature books in the rare book collection. The attention to detail and binding were spectacular especially since they are really tiny. The Art of Comic-Con is presently on display in the art gallery. There are outdoor concerts on the roof. The views are spectacular. I’m in love!
Just a note about parking though. You get two hours free with a library stamped ticket but be forewarned that if there is a game going on at Petco Stadium, you will have to pay $10 and the rate starts 2 hours before a game.
