First look at the first floor addition!

Get ready to feast your eyes on all kinds of exciting photos in this post! First up, a lovely shot of the new lobby with tower from the outside taken this morning. Workers are almost done with the glass. The awning took shape over the past few days. Looks great!

We were lucky enough to get some photos of the first floor work INSIDE this morning, for the first time ever. Here are some exclusive photos of the new auditorium/meeting room on the east addition (facing Dudley Drive):

This room, which will seat 300 people, will also be divisible into thirds to create three separate meeting rooms. These big windows overlook the retention pond out front.

It gets great sunlight in the morning. Can't you just imagine having a meeting in here? (once it's finished, of course) The first floor of this addition will also house the Library Store and a vending/cafe area, with doors that open onto a patio.

And now for the REALLY cool, knock-your-socks-off photos. Remember that glass tower out front? We actually got photos from inside the new lobby, and the scale of it is breathtaking:

The above photo is taken looking toward the front door. Notice the worker to get an idea of how tall this space is.

Here's a shot facing into the lobby from the front door. To the left is the new auditorium; to the right is the library's Circulation area.

Can you tell how excited we are?

Progress!

Moving right along. The additions are just about "dried in," meaning that we have walls, roof and windows. Right now, the most obvious work you see outside is work on the new lobby's tower, as seen above. By the way, the green spaces you see under the windows will be covered with silver panels for a sleek, modern look.

Workers are putting the finishing touches on the glass for the lobby.

But there's a lot of stuff going on inside, too. Workers are finishing up HVAC in the additions and installing fire sprinklers. They're also working on drywall and will begin millwork (interior cabinets and trim) soon! We'll try to get some photos of that for posting once it begins!