Maryland Approves $10.6 Million
for Pratt Expansion Project
The Maryland Board of Public Works approved spending $10.6 million January 23 to build an annex to the central Enoch Pratt Free Library that will house the library’s Maryland and African-American collections.
The 51,000-square-foot annex, which will connect with the main building, is expected to be completed in 2004, the Baltimore Sun reported January 23. The project is the first phase of a $48.5-million expansion and renovation of the aging facility in downtown Baltimore, set for completion by 2008. Because the Pratt is designated as the state library resource center, the newspaper explained, Maryland is expected to cover some $43 million of the expansion’s cost.
Gov. Parris N. Glendening said that the library expansion serves the goals of his Smart Growth initiative to control development: “Libraries are essential in this age of lifelong learning. As a downtown library, the new Pratt annex advances our Smart Growth philosophy.”
The African-American collection recently received a $1-million gift from Baltimore philanthropists Sylvia and Eddie C. Brown. The Maryland collection contains memorabilia and photographs of the state’s history, as well as works by such Maryland authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H. L. Mencken.
Posted January 28, 2002.
|
