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Inside Frisco, Texas' Brand New Public Library

The library features a 22-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex statue
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Photo: Brian Ashcraft | Local Profile

On March 4, 2023, the new Frisco Public Library will open to the public. At 158,068 sq. feet, it is the sixth-largest public library in Texas and the largest suburban public library in the state. It also has a model of a life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex.

Called "Rexy," the T. rex skeleton statue measures 42 feet long and is the centerpiece of the $60-million-plus library.

If the T. rex model wasn't enough to spark children's imaginations, the library also has themed areas, including the preschooler-geared Tiny Town, which has a little train, a train depot, a vet, a construction site and a grocery store. There is also a kids' club with hands science, engineering and tech activities. Another themed area, called "The Pond," has lily pads, turtles and fish and is aimed at toddlers. There is also a teen area, with studying booths and gaming.

With a collection of 284,000 items, the library has four conference rooms, sixteen study rooms, a quiet reading room, a computer lab, a makers' space, a terrace and more.

The building's design is inspired by the Texas Blackland Prairie that covered nearly 20,000 square miles from the Red River through modern-day Frisco. The local influence can be felt throughout the space. "The breezeway of a dogtrot house, common to the early days of Texas, provided designers with a solution for how to connect the collections side of the building to the lobby and after-hours event space," writes the library in an official statement. "Changing carpet colors reflect the prairie's changing seasons, the pond, story-time room with a sky ceiling, and the niche wall reference elements of the prairie landscape. Wooden panels on the northwest exterior can be interpreted as a contemporary nod to early Frisco's wood-clad houses."

The library is housed in a building originally constructed by rocket maker Beal Aerospace. After the company dissolved in 2000, the Frisco Community Development Corporation (FCDC) bought the land and the building, which it later donated in 2019 for use as the public library. In May of that year, $62 million in bond funds were approved, and work on the new public library moved forward.