The new Carnegie Library in the Hill District sits on the corner of Centre and Kirkpatrick, a once-busy intersection that had a 1950s gas station before it became an empty lot. Eventually, an open-air drug market added to the ambience of desolation.

As a young man, August Wilson walked the sloping streets of the neighborhood, soaking up inspiration and jotting down impressions that would inform his plays set in Pittsburgh.

The $3.15 million facility, which opened in October, is now easily the most striking structure in a community dominated by dilapidated storefronts and tired buildings. At 8,334 square feet, the new Carnegie Library has large, floor-to-ceiling windows. Its daring design by architect Rob Pfaffmann evokes both a church and an elegant modern school building.

Thanks to its openness, there is no better metaphor for the enlightenment within the library's walls than the natural light that floods the space. More important than the furnishings and the architecture is the welcoming atmosphere. What better way to serve the neighborhood?

The Carnegie Library in the Hill District is both technologically advanced and mindful of the community's history and struggles. With a teen lounge, a reading room with cafe seating and a tribute to August Wilson, the building is popular with patrons who are drawn to its wealth of computers and quiet places to read. A citadel of knowledge, the library is also a safe refuge from the harsh realities of the neighborhood.

The idle young men who stand on corners in the neighborhood now have a choice. They can enter a place of sanctuary and stimulation, or pursue the route that will fix their place on such corners for years to come.

Meanwhile, the doors of the new library in the Hill District are open.