Day 2: B is for Brand Library & Art Center

Our venture out of the house yesterday was an abbreviated one. Before lunch, hubby came home sick with what might be the flu, so babe and I hung around to make sure he could make it to the toilet in time if need be.

B for beach? No, too easy. In retrospect, we may have had a better day had we gone with easy.0000 I want to be honest here. The Brand Library & Art Center was a bit of a drag. "Be positive," the little voice in my head is telling me. Ok, I'll give you the positives:

• Lovely palm trees lining the drive up to the library
• A playground for the kiddies and plenty of open space on the grounds near the library to run around
• The library structure itself is pretty cool. Used to be a mansion built in1904 by a guy named Leslie Coombs Brand. It sits in the foothills above Glendale.
• The library houses lots of music-related materials for loan. 

To be honest, though, I expected the library to be different, seeing as it was a mansion at one point. I had visions of my babe staring at grand chandeliers, frescoes, ornate window coverings, and perhaps some colorful stained glass. But no mansion-y vibe here, save for a rather beautiful leaded glass window. I realize the structure is old, but it's a shame the inside hasn't really been kept up. It's rather drab and desperately needs a coat of paint. It does house an extensive collection of music books, CDs, sheet music, etc., though. There's an art gallery inside the building, but yesterday happened to be one of the days between exhibitions. We walked over to the Japanese Garden and Teahouse just across the parking lot, but that was closed. The Doctors House Museum, also on the grounds, was closed as well. The nature walk that starts on the grounds looked promising until I realized our stroller couldn't handle the uphill. Shoulda brought the BOB.

In a nutshell, the library's worth a visit if you're a musician. The grounds are attractive, and there's lots of space to run around or have a picnic. I like the fact that the art gallery exhibits up-and-coming California artists, so we'll probably head back for an upcoming show.

Stroller access: Yes, at the back of the library there's a ramp.
Nursing privacy: Not in the library, but outside if you're not too shy. I sat in the car and nursed.
Kid friendly: Library, no. Gallery, depending on exhibit. Playground/grounds, yes.
Food: No, but plenty of room for a picnic.

For more info:
http://www.brandlibrary.org/
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/parks/teahouse.asp
http://glendalehistorical.org/doctors.html