‘Jaw-dropping’: New Historic Westside library opens doors to community excitement — PHOTOS
Hundreds of residents in Las Vegas’ Historic Westside joined local leaders in government, education and the library district to celebrate the grand opening of a new two-story public library.
The more than 41,000-square-foot building on N. Martin Luther King Boulevard south of W. Lake Mead Boulevard is double the size of the previous West Las Vegas Library and contains a plethora of new amenities.
On the ground floor is a multimedia lab with a recording studio, an innovation lab with 3D printers, and an event center that can be used to host live performances. The staircase to the second floor, lined with placards detailing West Las Vegas history, leads to stocked bookshelves as well as a computer center, business center and multiple study private rooms.
Library District Executive Director Kelvin Watson said the district spent $40 million to construct the new community hub with services that make it a true “21st century library.”
“This library is, at its heart, it’s a place for every generation,” Watson said during the library’s opening ceremony. “Generations to come will find inspiration within these walls. “
The West Las Vegas Library began as a storefront on D Street in 1973 before upsizing and moving to W. Lake Mead Boulevard in the late 1980s. The new library is within three miles of 14 public and private schools.
Watson said he started making plans for a new West Las Vegas library with former Las Vegas Councilmember Cedric Crear about four years ago; construction on the new library broke ground in February 2024.
A ‘well-needed’ upgrade
Westside residents at the grand opening said they view the new library as a major investment into their historically overlooked community.
Ruby Duncan, a welfare rights advocate and Westside icon, recalled working with mothers in the 1970s to bring West Las Vegas its first library. While touring the building’s gallery, Duncan said the new library wouldn’t exist without those mothers’ hard work half a century ago.
“I think this will mean great education and all kinds of advocacy for the whole community,” Duncan said.
On the second floor, longtime Westside residents Ruth Jimerson-Carter and Leon Carter Jr. marveled at the library’s scale and technological resources. Having used the Westside’s past libraries, Jimerson-Carter said a new library was “well-needed.”
“The old library was good, too, but this one has more,” Jimerson-Carter said. “I think the kids are really going to grow a little faster. It’s beautiful, it really is. They did a good job.”
Gregory Freeman, president of the nonprofit cultural organization Historical Westside Affairs, called the library “jaw-dropping” and said he’ll likely return to use the recording studio’s podcasting equipment.
“What’s really amazing is that it’s all free,” Freeman said. “Kids can come in, who have a dream about maybe doing a podcast or being a DJ … they can all come here and learn how to do it for free, and then they can take that experience out into the world and build up and keep going from there.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
