More than 100 people listened to the speakers in front of the Murphy-Wilmot Library, eagerly waiting for the doors of their beloved branch to open Sunday.
The library at 530 N. Wilmot Road formally reopened after more than a year in a temporary location about a mile to the south. It underwent a $5.5 million facelift, begun in January 2010, that added 5,000 square feet, two study rooms, a teen area, more seating and other amenities.
Kristopher Kennon, 9, was among the patrons overjoyed by the library's reopening.
"I'm the first one to touch this keyboard," he said as he typed on one of the library's many computers.
Architect Nicholas Sakellar was commissioned to design the original building in 1964, and it opened in 1965.
Sakellar's son, Dino Sakellar, the architect on the renovation, retained the modernistic design features of the original library.
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"Today's event is not only a celebration of the library system, but it demonstrates the commitment of our elected officials and administrators to recognize that structures like these need to be preserved," he said.
When asked about the event turnout, Sakellar said, "It warms my heart."
He wasn't the only one with a lot of feeling about the place.
"It makes me feel emotional walking through the library," said Tim Murphy, son of former Tucson Mayor Lew Murphy, who had the library renamed in his father's honor in 2006.
"Just seeing what they have done to some of the reading areas and the views of the mountains would have meant a lot to my father," Murphy said.
For more information about the library go online to www.library.pima.gov/locations/wilmot or call 594-5420.
James S. Wood is a Tucson freelance photographer.
