Photos: Loussac Library entrance steps down

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Banners are raised in the pre-dawn darkness identifying the new temporary entrance to the Loussac Library on Monday morning, January 25, 2016, in Midtown. The banners direct visitors to both the library and to Anchorage Assembly chambers.

Supporters of Z.J. Loussac Public Library in Anchorage take one last walk down the notorious steps connecting the parking lot with the second-floor entrance at the Slip Slide N'Away event Monday morning, January 25, 2016.

The stairway and terrace will be removed over the next few weeks as crews build a new ground-floor entryway and pedestrian plaza.

"They're coming down!" exclaimed Anchorage Public Library director Mary Jo Torgeson in remarks to employees, project managers, media members and patrons who turned out to bid farewell to the problematic portal. "This has been a long time coming."

The original design called for the second-floor entrance so it would connect with a parking garage that was subsequently not built, thus necessitating steps, said city manager Mike Abbott. The steps were prone to icing over in winter, even after they were covered.

The library will reopen Tuesday with a new temporary entrance created during a weeklong closure.