{"id":94389,"date":"2026-01-09T01:43:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T01:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94389\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T01:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T01:43:40","slug":"brooklyn-branch-reopening-the-latest-in-new-and-renovated-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94389\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn branch reopening the latest in new and renovated libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Enoch Pratt Free Library\u2019s Brooklyn branch will have a grand reopening on Monday, Jan. 12, marking the latest Baltimore library location to undergo a refresh.<\/p>\n<p>The grand reopening and ribbon cutting follows extensive renovations to the interior, modernizing the nearly century-old library with infrastructure upgrades and refreshed public spaces for the Brooklyn community. Library visitors can now enjoy new furniture, paint, carpeting, and the comfort of a new HVAC system.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Councilmember Phylicia Porter (Dist. 10), Enoch Pratt Free Library president and CEO Chad Helton, and others are expected to be at the ceremony and the library throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>The project cost around $2 million, with funding made possible through federal support from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), administered by the Mayor\u2019s Office of Recovery Programs.<\/p>\n<p>The Pratt\u2019s Brooklyn branch opened in 1921 and was rebuilt in 1965. It has served as a neighborhood anchor, providing opportunity for learning, resources, and connection.<\/p>\n<p>After the formal program and ribbon cutting, the community is invited to enjoy activities for all ages throughout the day. These include a live jazz performance by the <a href=\"https:\/\/baltimorefishbowl.com\/stories\/jazz-saxophone-george-garzone-free-clinics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Gregory Thompkins<\/a> Ensemble, an all-ages prize drawing, library scavenger hunt, card and board games, craft activities, a DJ workshop with Raise Nation, airbrush tattoos with Airbrush Unlimited Group, and more.<\/p>\n<p>This is the latest in several library renovations completed and new branches opened in the past two years for Enoch Pratt Free Library. In November 2025, the Johnston Square community held a grand opening for the <a href=\"https:\/\/baltimorefishbowl.com\/stories\/johnston-square-the-hammond-new-branch-of-enoch-pratt-free-library\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">new branch at The Hammond<\/a>. In June 2024, the <a href=\"https:\/\/baltimorefishbowl.com\/stories\/grand-reopening-walbrook-enoch-pratt-free-library\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Walbrook Branch reopened<\/a> after completing renovations, and the Herring Run Branch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DCIAneAyQwE\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">completed renovations<\/a> in 2024. In August 2025, officials broke ground on what will become a new branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Park Heights \u2014 the first library in the neighborhood in over two decades. It is slated for completion in fall 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The Enoch Pratt Free Library \u2014 Brooklyn Branch is located at 300 E. Patapsco Ave., Baltimore, MD. The ribbon cutting and remarks by officials are set for 10 a.m., and the celebratory community activities will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the library.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Enoch Pratt Free Library\u2019s Brooklyn branch will have a grand reopening on Monday, Jan. 12, marking the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[44219,98,100,99,2043,25825,44220,41002,44221,9,24,63,44222,44223],"class_list":["post-94389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-arpa","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-civic-engagement","tag-community-spotlight","tag-enoch-pratt-free-library","tag-grand-reopening","tag-library-renovations","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-ribbon-cutting","tag-the-city-that-reads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}