After three years of construction, the $115 million renovation project at the Pratt Central Library is complete and the work is stunning. Join us as we get to tour the library and learn about its restoration with the project’s consulting architect, Sandra Vicchio.

In 1882, Enoch Pratt gave a whopping $1 million gift to Baltimore City to launch the nation’s first free library system, proclaiming, “My library shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color.” Today, the 1933 Central Library serves more than half a million people each year and with the newly completed whole-building restoration campaign, will now do so in gorgeously restored spaces. Carpenters removed dropped ceilings to reveal fabulous stenciling, artists restored decorative molding that was damaged in prior renovations, and lighting experts created new lighting that is historically appropriate and makes the rooms feel light and airy. Whether you last visited the Central Library a week ago or a decade ago, we hope you can join us and Ms. Vicchio to learn about (and gawk at) our newly restored piece of civic pride.