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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2006
Contact:
, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442
The Austin Public Library and the City of Austin will Celebrate the Opening of the Newly Expanded and Renovated Terrazas Branch with a Festive Grand Opening Celebration
A ceremonial community grand opening for the Terrazas Branch of the Austin Public Library expansion project is scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. in east Austin at 1105 E. Cesar Chavez Street. In October, 2003 the Terrazas Branch closed its doors to renovate and expand the existing branch library. In the 1998 City of Austin Bond Election, voters approved the funds to acquire the necessary land to design and construct an expansion of the Terrazas Branch Library from its original 5,400 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The Lawrence Group Architects oversaw the expansion design of this important library project.
The Austin community is invited to attend the grand opening ceremony along with the Terrazas Family, representatives from Crescent Real Estate Equities, Ltd., the library branch’s first corporate sponsor, and other dignitaries. Music by Mary Welch y Los Curanderos, and Mariachi Relampago, breakfast foods and children’s entertainment will all be a part of this free celebration.
The Terrazas Branch is named in honor of Henry S. Terrazas, a young Marine from East Austin who was injured in 1966 while fighting a forest fire. Three days later – November 5, 1966- the very day he was scheduled to leave for Vietnam, Henry died. He was only twenty years old. The Secretary of the Navy posthumously awarded him the Navy Commendation Medal.
The new Terrazas Branch will open with expanded space for adult and youth computer usage (including a state-of-the-art Michael and Susan Dell Wired for Youth Center), a collection of over 50,000 volumes (including books in both English and Spanish, periodicals and audio-visual materials), a large public meeting room, a children’s library area, an Immigration Center, and art exhibit space.
The City of Austin Art In Public Places program selected a local Mexican-American artist, Connie Arismendi, to create an exterior piece at the entryway of the Library. The artwork will reflect the cultural legacy of the neighborhood and pride of place by referencing the artesania of papel picado. The finished art piece is cut out of sanded aluminum, and stands 7 feet by 10 feet and attaches to a steel frame. For more information call (512) 974-7400 or visit www.cityofaustin.org/library.
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