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Sarasota News Leader December 27, 2013 Page 48 Tucker is musing on an in-place auction to empty the building. A number of displays are still there, demonstrating Newton's laws of motion, the metamorphosis of butterflies, the way sound travels and the elements of space travel, for example. The structure was designed and built as the county's central public library; it opened in 1976. It was never a big public hit, with its angular architecture and a central staircase only an LSD addict could love. And the roof was a perpetual source of leaks. The library eventually moved to downtown Sarasota. In 1991, the building — all 33,444 square feet of it — was leased to G.WIZ. The facility was a huge step up for the organization, which had used leased space in a low-end mall near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Names of donors to the museum are engraved on bricks along the walkway. Photo by Norman Schimmel A playground and picnic area remain on the grounds. Photo by Norman Schimmel