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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — City officials and community members formally celebrated the opening of the renovated Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library, located in Nubian Square.
The project began back in the fall of 2017, and summed up to around $17.2 million. The library was finished in October of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no public ceremonies planned.
After a year of waiting, city officials joined community members on Saturday to celebrate the library’s opening. The event had plenty of interactive family activities, alongside the Boston Book Festival and was funded by the Wagner Foundation.
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Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey attended and hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony and offered remarks about the role of the library in the community.
The 27,000 square foot renovation for the library among many new features, included open spaces, a new welcome area, redesigned plaza, children’s corner, a nutrition and a learning lab, and an African-American literature collection space.
Boston Public Library President David Leonard said the new library is a reflection of the community it came from. The Roxbury community had a large role in design ideas, voicing their thoughts for the newly renovated building.
WBZ's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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