Martin Luther King Jr. Library Celebrates 20 Years May 4
Martin Luther King Jr. Library is celebrating 20 years of providing services to the neighborhoods on East Colfax Avenue with a special event open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 4. The celebration will include food and cake, the unique performance "A Tour of the Islands" by Kalama Polynesian Dancers at 1:30 p.m. and a special show by Aurora Dance Hearts at 3:15 p.m.
The grand opening of MLK Jr. Library took place on May 4, 2004, four years after the 2000 library funding bond established a municipal service center to be built on East Colfax Avenue. The new facility was designed in conjunction with the city's Community Development Division and Original Aurora Renewal Program and was named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., making Aurora the only city in the state of Colorado to have a library named after this prominent leader of the civil rights movement.
Designer Michael Brendle modeled the library after the existing architecture on East Colfax Avenue. The library is approximately 10,000 square feet, can house 25,000-plus items and was built very close to the original neighborhood library at Sarah Wood's home.
The city of Aurora commissioned Jeff Hall of Lovettsville, Virginia, to create a statue of Dr. King, which was installed in 2015 outside the MLK Jr. Library. The seven-foot-tall bronze sculpture shows Dr. King's gentle yet fighting spirit. He is clutching a script and standing on top of a mountain range in reference to his famous speech and the Rocky Mountains.
Another celebration is coming soon, with Hoffman Heights Library turning 60 this year. Learn more about the incredible history of Aurora's library system with Aurora History Museum's virtual exhibit "Pages of the Past" at AuroraMuseum.org. For information about Aurora Public Library's programs, services and events, visit AuroraLibrary.org.
