While visiting Vancouver’s famed Central Library recently, I picked up some fine postcards and this one:
The photo of the Roman Coliseum rip-off building is good, but the “Did you know” text is among the lengthiest and dullest I’ve encountered in the genre. Did-you-know postcards are generally reserved for particularly fascinating locales. Reading the text of this I’m not sure this place qualifies:
Postcard caption:
“Library Square in downtown Vancouver has become one of the city’s most famous landmarks. Occupying a full city block, the complex is comprised of an office tower and the Vancouver Public Library, the second largest public library in Canada. Its design recalls the Roman Coliseum, its warm earth tones and its features are unique. Outside large public gathering areas draw streets festivals like the Word on the Street, a festival of literacy. Inside the seven story glassed in atrium has shops and sidewalk cafes along one side and the entrance to the library on the other. The library buildings is designed to take advantage of the many windows and beautiful views. The desks and study areas are located at the windows, and the stacks are centred in the middle of the seven story building. With 395,000 cardholders, the library attracts the locals as well as many thousands of visitors each year.”
They had so much to say they had to reduce the font size to a eye-straining 6-8 point size. And they still didn’t address why the library is shaped like the Coliseum or mention the various cool movies and television shows that have filmed there.
The back design, however, offers a welcome understated image:
