Becky Hawkins

Book 1, Page 124

Added 2020-02-12 02:26:20 +0000 UTC

Ta-daa! I frickin love libraries.

I based this building on a former Carnegie library in Olympia, WA:

I loved the unique way that the entrance faces the corner, rather than one side of the street. Also, I thought the patch of grass in the middle would be a good site for the protesters to gather around. Turtle City is large enough to warrant a bigger library, though. So I added a couple of stories, one tall and one regular-sized, like the Portland main branch:

Aside from adding two stories vertically, I also drew the building so that it extends beyond the panel borders, to imply that the library is larger than the building it's based on. I grew up near the Pittsburgh main branch, so I'm a bit spoiled...

(I have lots of memories of sitting on those steps because my parents had dropped me off at noon, but we forgot they opened at 1pm on Sundays, and cellphones were still a few years away from being something that kids own.)

On a completely different note, I just found this article about a proposed executive order that all new federal buildings be designed in a neoclassical style, which appeals to white nationalists because "Western Civilization, superiority, etc." This made me feel weird about posting this love letter to similar buildings, especially since it accompanies a splash page full of America Firsters. Oh, well. I hope this doesn't deplete your enjoyment of looking at pretty book-filled buildings!