A Worthy Structure

Article Date: April 14, 2008

By Cassie MacDuff, The Press-Enterprise

When I came to Fontana 16 years ago as a reporter, the city was still struggling to overcome the closure of the Kaiser Steel mill and a reputation as a rough-edged, blue-collar town.

Sierra Avenue north of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center was dotted with vacant lots and run-down businesses.

"Downtown" -- far from the bustling Interstate 10 corridor -- consisted of a modest City Hall, police headquarters, tiny library and small park.

The population spurt that made Fontana the fastest-growing city in the state hadn't yet begun. Hunter's Ridge and Sierra Lakes were just gleams in their developers' eyes.

Sixteen years later, I returned for the unveiling of Fontana's 93,000-square-foot Lewis Library and Technology Center on Saturday. The transformation of the civic center was stunning.

The building itself is magnificent, with remarkable details everywhere: Spanish-style tiles on the entry fountain and interior staircase, laser-cut silhouettes of the tile motif on the ends of bookcases, thousands of tiny prisms laminated inside windows casting rainbows on walls.

It's rare to see a public project built these days other than bare bones. Buildings may be designed to ideal standards. But when it's time to build, officials seek "value engineering," cutting corners and cheapening materials.

Fontana didn't go that route.

City officials had the vision to view the building as a new focal point for civic activity -- not just a place to check out books, study and use public computers, but a meeting place for the whole community. It includes a 330-seat auditorium and 650-seat performing arts center, a coffee bar and bookstore.

Mayor Mark Nuaimi delivered the first speech in the new auditorium, his 2008 state-of-the-city address. He spoke to a black-tie crowd of public officials and invited guests, many of them donors who helped build the $65 million library.

Nuaimi said the city didn't cut corners because it wanted to create a building that would serve generations to come.

He recalled the city's struggle to get state funding to build the library. The first two applications were turned down. When the $14.9 million grant finally came through, Nuaimi said he broke down in tears.

To get the grant, the city had to show it was committed to improving itself, Supervisor Josie Gonzales, a former councilwoman who grew up there, told me later. Building the senior housing and renovating the Metrolink station did that.

The city put up $30 million in redevelopment bond revenue. Gonzales and Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane put up $1.5 million from their offices' discretionary funds. Private donors contributed more than $15 million.

Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren said Fontana now has the library its population of 185,000 deserves.

Now children won't have to wait for a gift card to Barnes & Noble, she said; they can get a library card and have safe place to sit and read.

Councilman John Roberts called the library "the most significant building ever built in Fontana. There's nothing anywhere close."

Having even a small part in getting it built "makes it all worthwhile," he said.

I'm glad Fontana didn't skimp. Adding this library to its downtown will benefit its residents and the region as a whole.

Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909-806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com