The Fulton County Board, still undecided on the fate of the Central Library in downtown Atlanta has set an input meeting for 7 p.m. June 14 on the main floor of the library at 1 Margaret Mitchell Square.
At their May 18 meeting, County Board members discussed such options as renovating the Central Library – the cost was estimated at $85 million to restore the deteriorated structure – or building a new library elsewhere downtown for less than half that amount.
Yet some argue for the Central Library’s preservation. Opened in 1980, it was the last work by noted architect Marcel Breuer and is considered a strong example of the Bauhaus movement.
Fulton County residents in 2008 approved $275 million in bonds to renovate existing libraries and build new branches as part of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. A new, larger Central Library was proposed at the time, but library board trustees lately have recommended a new building about 20 percent the size of the old one.
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