The most popular in El Vendrell
The most popular part of El Vendrell is its library, or rather: its libraries. Although, in this article, we will leave aside the Terra Baixa Public Library and focus on the El Vendrell Popular Library – it all starts with p, but one is public and the other, popular.
On the Rambla, very close to the modernist waterfall by Josep Montemar Urgellès and the train station, elements that presented us with the future at the beginning of the 20th century, is located the sixth Popular Library in the country. In another Now We Discover We can already see the first one, that of Valls.
With a history similar to the first five and others that came later, that of Vendrell is a good example of the legacy of the Commonwealth of Catalonia, the result of the union of the country's four provincial councils, and their vision, and also of Noucentisme, the artistic style promulgated by the same staff who worked within the Catalan administration. At the time of the inauguration of the Vendrell space, the Commonwealth was presided over by the Mataró architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
The request from the city council of the capital of Baix Penedès to host the new facility began in 1916. The series of administrative procedures—as in the past—went at its own pace. The project was designed by the Hospital-based architect Ramon Puig i Gairalt on land donated by Odon Nin. Construction began in 1917, and the complex was inaugurated in 1920.
The building, located in the most modern part of the town, stands alone and is surrounded by a stone railing that separates it from the street. The walls are divided into sections by attached pilasters with medallions at the top, where the windows are located. At the top, there is a cornice topped by a railing with ball-shaped pinnacles. It has two entrances, one facing the main road and the other leading to the Rambla. Both have a staircase, two large bases supporting columns with Ionic capitals, a frieze, and a pediment.
The El Vendrell Public Library housed the headquarters of the city's Culture and Education services until a few weeks ago; At that time, the owner, the Tarragona Provincial Council, as a member of the now-defunct Mancomunidad (Commonwealth), restored it for use. It will no longer be a library, but will house the Provincial Council's new offices in Baix Penedès, with which the supra-municipal institution expands and reaffirms its presence in this region.
All this to remain the most popular library in El Vendrell.