Torches cut through I-beams in the Main Library, spraying glowing sparks of steel from what had been a staircase bearing an Aminah Robinson mural. Workers rip out drywall and haul equipment where months ago children sat during story time. Jackhammers pound, and debris crashes as demolition and renovation continue in the building that philanthropist Andrew Carnegie would be proud of.

Torches cut through I-beams in the Main Library, spraying glowing sparks of steel from what had been a staircase bearing an Aminah Robinson mural.

Workers rip out drywall and haul equipment where months ago children sat during story time. Jackhammers pound, and debris crashes as demolition and renovation continue in the building that philanthropist Andrew Carnegie would be proud of.

It was the Carnegie Foundation�s $200,000 that helped build the original a century ago. More than $30 million will renovate the Columbus Metropolitan Library�s flagship, which includes a 25-year-old addition.

Those who pass the worksite at 96 S. Grant Ave. might have heard about the plans. But few have been inside to see the eerie juxtaposition of old and new.

Walking by the security desk in the Carnegie portion of the building into the former main atrium is a bit of shock. Robinson�s depiction of Columbus urban life attached to the zigzag stairway is gone. So is the staircase.

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The Columbus artist died on May 22. Her mural�s canvas was rolled and put in storage, to reappear when the building reopens in about a year.

About the only recognizable features inside are the ceiling and lights, which won�t be changed.

�It�s a skeleton, basically,� said Ben Zenitsky, Columbus Metropolitan Library spokesman. �It�s really a shell of its former self.�

�The public is really interested to know what�s going on in here,� said Fred Brock, project manager for the renovation here and eventually at half of the library�s 21 branches. The projects are funded by $100 million in bonds and $20 million in private donations.

While the footprint of the Main Library will remain the same, the interior will have far more public space, Zenitsky said. Removing the stairs, adding walkways and relocating the library staff to a far corner will expand the three-story atrium and create a courtyard effect.

�This is a beautiful building. We want to open it up to the public,� Zenitsky said.

Instead of small entrances and hallways leading to rooms housing computers, bookshelves and table displays, two parallel walkways will flank the entrance and lead visitors from front to rear, allowing them to literally see through the building. Floor-to-ceiling windows will enhance the open feeling.

The rear, or east end, which had housed a public computing area, will become a two-story reading area. It will have glass walls, a cafe and an east entrance on the first floor that will lead to the Old Deaf School Park nearby and a patio.

The Grant Street entrance also will get new landscaping.

Engraved on the building front is the phrase �My Treasures Are Within.� And people want to know when they�ll again have access to them.

�A lot of people stop and ask us if they�re open,� said Doug Shawver of Igel Construction. A big sign out front says closed. �But they still ask.�

Chandra Carruthers, who often walks through the Old Deaf School Park�s Topiary Garden on her lunch break, said she was unaware of the library�s design details, especially the new rear entrance

�I love the library,� she said, �and I probably will come over here more often.�

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso