The hottest ticket in Canada: A noisy library with much more than books
It’s the week of the Calgary Stampede, one of the best-known rodeos on the North American circuit, drawing over 1.27 million visitors this year.
But first, Robert Sulea has something more pressing to show his mom, who is visiting from southern Michigan: the library. “It’s amazing, it’s absolutely beautiful,” he gushes as the pair look up to the oculus skylight, which bathes the building in summer sunlight.
Young and sharp-looking, Mr. Sulea, who works in the oil and gas industry, doesn’t look particularly bookish. But then again, Calgary’s new Central Library is new place in Canada right now, an architectural gem so unique that a light rail train runs through its foundation. Built in a fashion that recalls a ship, it also stands as a show of resistance for an oil city that’s been dragged into a multiyear slump.
