BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Central Library.
The current building, was built in 1964 and became the centralized location for libraries in Buffalo and Erie County when it officially opened that year.
The building was built in two stages, according to Joy Testa Cinquino, Assistant Deputy Director, Development & Communications for the Central Library. The construction for the back portion of the building began in February 1961 and was finished in 1963. The second part of the construction involved demolishing the old Buffalo Public Building and then building the rest of the new library. The building opened to the public on September 8, 1964, and officially dedicated on October 17, 1964. The new library cost an estimated $11 million to build, including purchasing the land.
In addition to being the centralize location for all libraries in Buffalo and Erie County, the library is home to thousands of books, videos, CDs and more. Library officials say there are two million books that are currently housed in the downtown library, and have had millions of visitors over the years.
Buffalo's downtown library is also home to the original, handwritten copy of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Samuel Clemens (Twain) came to Buffalo to manage the Buffalo Express Newspaper in 1869. He only ended up staying about a year, but during that time he befriended James Gluck, a curator for the library. He donated the manuscript at Gluck's request.
The library also holds exhibits over the years, including the Black Doll exhibit and the World War I exhibit, which is located in the Library’s Collections Gallery.
The library recently unveiled a new teen space earlier this year.
To mark their anniversary, the Central Library is hosting two events this week.
On Wednesday, October 16 from 5 p.m. -7 p.m., they will be hosing a fundraising event at Big Ditch Brewing Company. The money raised will help support the Central Library's 'Bucks for Books' program. They will also be toasting to the 60th Anniversary of the library. For more information on this event: ways2give.buffalolib.org/happyhour
There will be a public celebration for the Central Library, located at 1 Lafayette Square, which will be held on Friday, October 18 from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. There will be displays, interactive activities and stories celebrating the libraries roll in Buffalo's community. This event is open and free to the public.
