Permanent Installations
The Whiz Kid
As visitors approach Crestview Public Library’s main entrance, they’re greeted by The Whiz Kid, a bronze sculpture loved by library staff and patrons alike.
“To me, the little boy represents the children who come to the library and growing a lifetime of readers,” Library Director Jean Lewis said. “He’s sitting on top of the globe, and here, you can get a world of information.”
Installed in 2010 as the city’s first piece of public outdoor art, The Whiz Kid honors library supporters Flo and Ted Lembeck.
Flo Lembeck served as the founding president of the Friends of the Crestview Library and helped establish the Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative.
Prompted by Ted Lembeck’s death, the Friends of the Crestview Library raised donations to purchase the sculpture.
Crestview: Two Rivers and a Dream
Walking into the library’s central aisle, visitors behold a massive mural dominating three walls in the periodicals section. How massive is it? Thirty-four feet long by eight feet high, to be exact.
The mural encompasses centuries of the area’s history, geography and important industries.
Commissioned by the Friends of the Crestview Library, Sandra Saltness Parks painted Crestview: Two Rivers and a Dream on 34 separate canvases that work together as one piece. Despite the size and complexity of the assignment, Saltness Parks finished the mural in four months. By March 2005, the mural hung in its permanent home, ready to inspire and inform patrons.
