On May 23rd KPL’s Central branch celebrated its sixtieth year at 85 Queen Street North, and what better opportunity to dig in to the Grace Schmidt Room’s archival collections and explore the evolution of our home in downtown Kitchener since 1962.
Kitchener Public Library’s Main branch reading room, 1962
1962: “Bright, Spacious, Adaptable”
After seventeen years of campaigning for new library facilities, on May 4th, 1961 ground was broken on the site of what would become the Kitchener Public Library’s Main branch at 85 Queen St. North. Just over a year later, 15,000 members of the public toured the new building on opening day, May 23rd, 1962. The new library, lauded in that day’s Kitchener Record as “air conditioned, bright, spacious, adaptable, soundproofed, and colorful,” was four times the size of KPL’s former home, the old Carnegie library at Weber and Queen streets, and featured an expansive reading room, 221-seat auditorium, teen room, three bookmobiles, nighttime book depository, washrooms, public telephones, and children’s story room, complete with a cozy fireplace.
In November of the same year, after nine months of working through the night to complete the work during the library’s closed hours, Jack Bechtel’s 560 square foot mural Enlightenment was unveiled in the reading room. Although our library has undergone many changes over the last 60 years, this piece has remained, and can still be found overlooking the reading lounge today.
Jack Bechtel created the mural Enlightenment over nine months in 1962. It can still be found in Central’s reading lounge today.
1979: Growing with the Community
A 12,000 square foot extension to our flagship branch was unveiled on March 31st, 1979. This renovation allowed for significant growth of library collections, particularly audiovisual materials like films, records, and talking books, an improved lounge and study areas, and an elevator. The library’s Heritage Room was also introduced, recreating a classic library atmosphere with repurposed tables and shelves saved from the old Carnegie library.
Children’s Department, 1980s.
1994: Technology and Accessibility
In 1994, the Main branch was again updated with special emphasis on improving access to technology, community spaces, and services. The renovation facilitated the expansion of video, music, foreign language, large print, and talking book collections, and included a revamped teen zone and basement café.
Children’s Department, 1990s.
2014: A Library for a New Era
Today’s beautiful Central library was the product of an extensive four-year renovation project that began in 2010. This not only allowed for the growth of existing collections and services, but for the development of new resources as well. The result was a space that fit with a today’s information environment and community needs. A place where you could record music, digitize photos, build language skills, connect with community resources, meet friends for coffee, explore an art exhibition, unearth your family history, help care for a vegetable garden, or, of course, find a quiet spot with a good book.
The new library, described by the Record as “a triumph,” was awarded both the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the Green Building Council and the OLA Library Building Award for Library Architectural and Design Transformation.
Want to learn more about our history at KPL Central? Come visit the display of archival photos documenting our journey from 1962 to the present at the entrance to the Grace Schmidt Room.
KPL Central’s Queen Street entrance, 2016.
Lauren Simon, Senior Library Assistant, Grace Schmidt Room