As a native of Detroit, Barbara Madgy Cohn has a passion for art, Detroit, and libraries. She has worked as a registered nurse, has a B.A. in art history, and has been a docent at the Detroit Institute of Arts since 2008. She created the "Discover the Wonders of the Detroit Public Library: An Art and Architectural Tour" and continues to serve as the director of the tour program. Patrice Rafail Merritt has served as a professional librarian and library fundraiser for over thirty-five years. During her tenure as executive director of the Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation, she supported and implemented the tour program and continues to serve as a docent for library tours.
The book pays beautiful tribute to one of the city's most
impressive structures.--Suzanne Chessler "Detroit Jewish News"
The deliberate and considered choice of building and sustaining a
library system is the first order of creating a caring and
knowledgeable community. From its inception, the Detroit Public
Library has been a sustaining force in the city. Its success is an
important measure of a civil society.--Jeffrey Scherer
"architect"
The fruit of a popular docent-led tour, [The Detroit Public
Library: An American Classic] guides readers through architect Cass
Gilbert's magnificent monument to early Italian Renaissance style.
. . . Jaw-dropping photos draw attention to the imposing grandeur
of the interior and to the riot of ornament everywhere: decorative
stonework, ornamental ironwork, frolicking cherubs, zodiac friezes.
Most thrilling, though, is the tough, terse maxim inscribed over
the main entrance, the perfect adage for a town built by industry:
Knowledge Is Power.--Mark Dery "Publishers Weekly"
The illustrations are clearly presented and quite numerous. The
reader gets a real sense of the building and its glorious
architecture and artwork. Photo captions are informative without
being burdensome. The book takes the library chronologically
through the twentieth century, presenting information about the
various renovations the building received over the years. Overall,
this is an impressive work.--Edward A. Goedeken "Libraries:
Culture, History & Society"
The [book] is a testament to an overlooked treasure.--Judith Harris
Solomon "HOUR Detroit"
The Detroit Public Library is an inspirational edifice constructed
to reflect the cultural and educational aspirations of the growing
city. This pictorial captures the aesthetics of the community and
the beauty of the building.--Francis J. Buckley Jr.
This important chronicle of the art and architecture of one of our
city's most treasured spaces will inspire not only a visit to the
Detroit Public Library but also a new appreciation for Detroit's
place in America's cultural history.--Salvador Salort-Pons
This is a beautiful book with splendid photographs on nearly every
page. And that was the goal - to use the eyes of over a dozen
Detroit photographers to showcase "this overlooked
treasure".--Susan Eileen Paton "The Michigan Historical Review"
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