The City of Phoenix’s main library is named the Burton Barr Library. This modern five story building in downtown is noted for its innovative architecture. It is so innovative that there are often groups of architectural students visiting the library. Will Bruder was the primary architect and he was a student of nationally known architect Buckminster Fuller. You may be asking, “Blake why do you know all of this…and why should we care?” In 2017 a large fire suppression pipe broke in the ceiling of the 5th floor. Water poured out of the pipe for 8 hours which flooded all of the floors. This was a $10 million disaster for the City of Phoenix. The Sunday morning when the flooding was discovered, the City’s Incident Management Team (IMT) was deployed. As a member of the team, I responded to the library and stood in three inches of water on the main floor for our first briefing. For the next 7 days, the IMT oversaw the rescue of over one million volumes and pieces of artwork in the flooded zones. My job became giving tours of the damaged library to VIPs…including city and state officials, politicians and the original architect, Will Bruder. In the midst of a disaster, I had a great time. I took people up to the roof and all over the interior, pointing out items of interest. I enjoyed being a well paid tour guide that week.
The beautiful Burton Barr Library