The Royal Library

My facebook friend Michael B lives in Riverside, California and he really knows how to show off the city and tell the history as well.  One of his facebook postings showed the sad demolition of a historic building - the city library. 

It was being demolished and replaced with an eye sore - from the 60's.

This story triggered my memory of the time I was in my mid 20's on a city tour of Boston.  They too were demolishing historic buildings left and right.  Then somebody woke up.  Laws were passed to save and restore the buildings and if they couldn't, then they at least had to save the facade and incorporate it into the new building.  Both the story of Riverside and the memory of Boston gave me the idea for this blog.

Den Kongelig Bibliotek or in English: The Royal Library.

The history of The Royal Library is long but in a nut shell it was founded by King Frederik III in 1648 and opened to the public in 1793 - still awake?  Over the years it has grown and grown to be the largest library of the Nordic countries and is now housed in 4 separate buildings throughout Copenhagen.  

Go ahead - don't be embarrassed -  yawn - get it out of the way.

Ready?

Okay.

The library was in desperate need of more space but instead of doing what they did in Riverside, they did something more like what they did in Boston.

On Slotsholm (very roughly and poorly translated, it is something like: castle island or more like castle islet) the library was built in 1906.  By the end of the 20th century, space was tight.  So in 1995, ground was broken and a new additional space was added to the existing building.  It opened to the public at the end of 1999.

ZZZZZzzzzz.....

 

The following photos were taken on 2 different days with 2 different cameras; my phone camera which is not sharp and my real camera which has a hard time reading the light.

On the days that I take my dog around the harbor, we see this big black building on every walk. 

 In the  above and below photo you can see the original 1906 red brick library on the left.  On the right you can see the new 1999 library know as The Black Diamond.

The building is covered in black granite mined in Zimbabwe and then cut and polished in Italy.

 Here is an close up view of where the old meets the new.

 The big concrete sign by the front door says: The Royal Library

Waving flags announce the library's photo museum.  At the entrance of the library is an "infinity" fountain.  The water fountain starts across the street, continues to this side of the street, a sidewalk bridge crosses over the fountain, leading to the front 2 revolving doors and then pours out into the harbor - very simple for a big effect.

 The little mermaid - representing the books of Danish author Hans Christian Anderson. You can grab a danish and coffee and sit out front to enjoy the harbor and take in the sun.

 This is the view from the opposite side.  Here, high-tech meets old world.  You would never know that both buildings housed the same purpose.  Way in the back is the parliament building and tower.

I don't do these selfies very well but here I am at the 1st entrance of the entrance to the Royal Library Garden.  They have turned the first entrance into a little outdoor café.

Me and my hot-wheels between the 1st and 2nd entrance.

The 2nd entrance is to the library garden.

 

 

 Now I am inside the library looking out of the window back towards the garden.

 Now I am back at the front side of the Black Diamond on the opposite side of the harbor.

I want to get smack center to take a photo looking into the atrium but in order to do that, I need to cross the bridge.

In order to cross the bridge, they first have to complete it.  The 2 small ramps has so far taken 4 years to complete.  Remember my bicycle snake blog about the construction company going belly up in the middle of 3 different harbor bridge projects? - well this is one of them.  It's the smallest of the 3 bridges - about the width of an average neighbor street.  When they finally do complete the bridges, I will be able to get from the south end of the city to the north end of the city in 20 minutes at a casual speed on my clunker bike.

 This is pretty close to the center as one can get - on land.  

The posts in the water are for the new circle bridge.

This is what the circle bridge will look like if they ever get it completed.  

  The circle to the left will swing open to let taller boats in and out of the canal.

 One of the beautiful canals empties out into the harbor right smack in front of the Black Diamond.

None of the walls of the building are straight up and down.  They all lean one way or another and the front wall leans out towards the harbor making it fun for the tourist in the sight-seeing boat.  Here they are able to photograph selfies in the reflection of the 8 story high atrium.

 Here you can easily look into the library.

Now look at the long and low gray colored structure on the right hand side - this is also part of the new library with a sun deck up on top.

There's my clunker at the entrance stairs leading up to the sun-deck with offices and books on the ground floor. 

Now I am standing on the sun-deck.  Bring your own chaise-long and a pic-nic basket.

The arrow points to an old grain silo from the 60's - now a modern apartment building; again saving old structures instead of bulldozing them to the ground.

 The first thing you see when you enter into the foyer of the Black Diamond is a book and gift shop.

 

 Next to the book and gift shop is a café where you can get danish and coffee.  You can sit at one of the many indoor tables with views of the harbor or one of the outdoor deck chairs to enjoy the sun and water.

 

You know this is a safe place to eat because the food and beverage authorities have awarded happy smiles in all 5 categories.

Beyond the café is the escalator up to the first floor.

 Just beyond the escalators is the restaurant.  Looks small from here but it's the length of half of the building providing views of the harbor from every table.

 

 On the back side of the restaurant are the stairs leading down to the Queens Hall which is an auditorium seating up to 600 people and used for concerts, conferences, films, ballets and theater.

 Look under the escalator and you can see a round hole in the ground.  This is a staircase leading down to exhibition halls containing a photograph museum and a cartoon museum.

 When you get to the top of the escalator, you enter the bridge that crosses the street below.

Above the bridge is a huge fresco painted by the very famous Danish painter Per Kirkeby.

 This is at the top end of the escalator.  Street traffic passes directly below.  The fresco is above on a slanted ceiling.

 Keep on walking and you can see where the old and the new meet.

Nearly 100 years sandwiched together.

Here you have old world charm in a very relaxing and soulful atmosphere.

 Look through the window in the door and you can see this room is for serious, quite reading like you see in films (or maybe all libraries look like this and I don't read/study enough)

 

 This way to old encyclopedias.

 Old fashion computers.

 The next few pictures are of the amazing modern sculpture-like architecture.

The building is a work of art; each corner and wave worth your attention.

 

 

 

 The red arrow is pointing to our neighborhood.

 

Cruise on by for a post card, a movie, some music, a speech, artwork, some great food, a coffee, lay out on the sun-deck or in the garden, oh yeah, right - and check out a book while you're at it.