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MARIE LANGLOIS
Herald Staff Writer

Ground breaking ceremonies for Biloxi’s $1.6 million library-cultural center on Lameuse Street will be held Tuesday at 10 am.

Representatives of Turnbull and Associates of San Francisco. Calif., designers of the complex, and of the Holiday Inn Construction Division of Memphis, Tenn., the contracting firm, will be present for the occasion.

The Biloxi Library Board, Friends of the Library, the Bicentennial Commission and city dignitaries will participate in the ceremony which is open to the public.

Mayor Jerry O'Keefe said refreshments will be served in the City Hall following the ground breaking.

The cultural center will stretch between Lameuse and Delauney streets. A metal roof will slope from a four-story peak at the southwest corner to the height of a single story to face city hall and the Bicentennial Plaza will be between the library and city hail. The city’s first library, Creole Cottage. will be restored with Community Development funds and placed in the cultural center’s courtyard as an information center.

The city authorized issuance of $1 million in public improvement bonds to help finance the Bicentennial project. Of this amount. $600,000 will be used for the cultural center. An additional $200,000 has been committed from the State Library Commission and the remaining $700.000 will be diverted from funds designated for a multi-level parking facility.

Architect William Turnbull said his design will "clearly recognize the area’s cultural heritage and will be more than just a place where books are stored. it will be a cultural arts museum for the entire area."