Thursday, August 16, 287 E. Third Street.

Invited guests and dignitaries will be on hand as Western University

President Philip Pumerantz, PhD, cuts the ribbon on the 35,000-square-

foot, state-of-the-art library.

“”By rehabilitating this building and opening this library, Western

University sets a shining example of what the renovation of old structures

can do to revitalize a downtown,”” said Dave Armstrong, president of the

Pomona’s Central Business District. “”I am amazed and impressed with what

they’ve done.””

The ceremony is the culmination of a $4.25 million remodel of the former

Pacific Telephone & Telegraph building, originally built in 1929 and

occupied by PT&T in 1930. The university acquired the abandoned telephone

switching station in a gift/purchase agreement in 1998 from long-time

university supporters Victor and Cathy Tessier.

The university paid for the transformation with monies from a California

Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) bond issued in 1998.

Remodeling of the building began in spring 2000. The building’s entrance

was moved from Third Street to the east-facing Gibbs Street and the east

side of the building’s fa