Experience this exciting
time of growth for your community library!
Thank you, Bastrop, for all of your support.
| Summer 2005 - Preliminary Work | Mid-December 2005 - Interior Changes | |
| August 2005 - Foundation Pad | Late December 2005 - New Building Interior | |
| September 2005 - Pipes and Conduits | Lightning Damage: Past and Present | |
| Mid-September 2005 - Foundation Slab | January 2006 - Connecting the New Building | |
| October 2005 - Framing Begins | February 2006 - Interior changes | |
| Late - October 2005 - Wall Framing | Mid-February 2006 - Reading Room Construction | |
| November 2005 - Roof Trusses | Mid-February 2006 - Roof Top Projects | |
| December 2005 - Beginning Roofing |
| Summer
2005 Preliminary Work |
Remember the field across from the library? It used to be our 'informal' parking lot in the grass. Two older homes were moved from this field and were remodeled on Wilson Street.
Did you know there used to be a Bakery across from the library? The Old Bakery House being disassembled carefully for moving (above) and the house ready for moving on a trailer to Wilson Street (below at right).
Bulldozer plowing up the field behind the library to start the earth leveling for the foundation pad.
Mountains of dirt were brought in, truck load after truck load.
Above: The former wireless internet antenna fastened to the top of the old smokestack. The smokestack was part of the Bastrop Water, Light and Ice Company building in the late 1800's.
The smokestack and antenna were hit by lightning in October of 2002.
Below: A new tower for the wireless Internet antenna was assembled in the far back corner of the library back lot. A crane was used to hoist the tower into place, piece by piece.
A comparison of the old concrete smokestack with the new slender steel tower and their relationship to the back lot behind the library building.
The new antenna being in place, it was time to take down the old smokestack that held the previous wireless Internet antenna with the aid of a big bucket truck, a steel cable and an excavator. The smokestack was beginning to crumble and lean over, and was in the way of the library expansion area. The concrete smokestack was originally a part of the Bastrop Water, Light and Ice Company building that predated the library on this spot in the late 1800's, and was used to burn coal to generate electric power.
(Smokestack demolition photos are courtesy of Michal Hubbard of the Corporate Camera.)
The base of the smokestack proved to be more resistant to change! A huge drill was used to chop away at the remains of the base until it could be pushed over. The entire library building vibrated when this happened. The base had to be broken up into smaller pieces to be moved away.
