OLDSMAR - Oldsmar is the little city that likes to think big, and that couldn't be clearer than at its new $5-million public library on St. Petersburg Drive E.

We're talking soaring ceilings, massive columns, loads of dark oak trim, king-sized pendant lights and street lamps - all in early 20th century decor and paying homage to Ransom Eli Olds, city founder and inventor of the Oldsmobile.

"Everything was designed to be big and grand," said library director Bert Weber.

The expansive glass doors open at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The city has been planning the new library since 1999, when the town's population was surging and the aging bank building, where the library has been housed, was deteriorating.

Construction on the 19,800-square-foot structure, which is nearly three times larger than the old, began last November.

The new library, a stone's throw from the Galleria commercial and residential center, will serve as the eastern anchor of a signature downtown city leaders hope won't be too far off in the future. State Street was Oldsmar's original main street.

Even though it's much roomier than the old library, the $5-million library was designed to reflect the small-town ambience the city prizes.

"We were charged with the task of delivering something with an Old Florida feel and that related to history of Oldsmar," said project architect Phil Trezza of St. Petersburg's Harvard Jolly.

The inspiration? Sketches of a luxury hotel R.E. Olds planned but was never able to build because of the Great Depression.

The exterior is a sunny Mediterranean revival look with beige stucco, cast stone, green and white awnings and a multicolor, raised barrel-tile roof. And it's just as pretty from the rear parking lot as it is in the front.

The parking lot is landscaped with oaks, palms and magnolias. Victorian-style bollards illuminate the pathways at night. Even the bike racks have a vintage look.

Patrons will enter through an arcade with a barrel-vaulted ceiling dotted with paddle fans and pendant lights. During the day, natural light streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"It was actually designed after an open-air arcade in Tarpon Springs," Trezza said.

On the northeast side are restrooms, space to build a cafe or coffee shop, and a meeting room for 150 that can be divided into two rooms.

On the other side of the arcade is the entrance to the library that contains the Grand Reading Room, the children's and teen's areas, a garden room, the adult reading lounge, a conference room and offices - all in earthy tans and greens.

The Grand Reading Room contains Craftsman-style details, popular in the early part of the 20th century: massive dark wood columns, rows of windows and exposed ceiling beams. Interior streetlights, benches and belt-driven fans hark back to a bygone era.

Keeping the city's heritage in mind, the children's library has an automotive theme, with a carpet designed to look like a roadway, called "the road to reading."

A three-dimensional mural will depict a canopied road leading into the story time room. Other artistic touches will include a photo wall with reflections of historic Oldsmar and a 12- by- 12-foot floor inlay of a 1901 Oldsmobile, the city's logo.

There are two octagon-shaped towers, 33 feet tall and lined with clerestory windows. One is a teen room that will include retro-cool, two-tone leather car seats.

The other, Weber's favorite, is a screened garden room, designed to look like a Victorian conservatory, which will be filled with plants provided by the Top of the Bay Garden Club as well as wrought iron tables and chairs.

It will also boast reproduction "Oldsmar chairs," which were similar in design to the Adirondack chairs that once lined State Street.

The new library will contain 20 new computers. Wireless Internet service will be available within a year, Weber said.

"The library reflects Oldsmar's old-fashioned ideals but has modern touches," Weber said. "That's what this city is all about."

Terri Bryce Reeves can be reached at treeves@tampabay.rr.com.

Oldsmar Public Library

Year open: 2008

Cost: $5-million

Square footage: 19,800

Windows: 85

Ceiling fans: 15

Ceiling height, octagonal rooms: 33 feet

Ceiling height, Grand Reading Room: 29 feet

Diameter of four-arm pendant lights: 5 1/2 feet

IF YOU GO:

The new Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive E, opens Wednesday. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday. Most of the furnishings are installed or will be by mid January. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for noon Jan. 26.