This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A small explosion Friday afternoon on the third floor of the main branch of the Salt Lake City Library forced the evacuation of the building.
There were no injuries, but some damage, said police spokesman Joe Cyr. There was a hole blown in a west-facing window visible from 200 East.
He said the explosion, which occurred about 2:30 p.m., appeared to be from a home-made device.
Police detained one person briefly but have no suspects, Cyr said.
Eastbound traffic was closed on 400 South at 200 East as patrons were escorted across the street to Washington Square.
Library patron Austin Carlson, who was near the device when it went off, said, "It sounded like a gunshot, louder than any gunshot I've ever heard.
"It smelled like natural gas."
Korey Llewelyn, a library patron who said she was in the basement in the children's section when the explosion detonated, said she felt a jarring sensation.
"I just thought somebody knocked a whole shelf over," Llewelyn said.
The explosion occurred as the Utah Historical Society was holding its annual meeting at the library.
Susan Whetstone, the society's photo curator, said the detonation was louder than a gunshot. "It sounded like an explosion."
Philip F. Notarianni, the society's director, also said the explosion sounded like a gunshot, and said as meeting attendees were evacuating the library, "It smelled like gunpowder."
But Notarianni said he could not see smoke or other signs of an explosion.
About 250 people were attending meeting activities in the library's basement and first-floor auditoriums, Notarianni said.