A four-ton steel tower frame was hoisted 60 feet into the air Thursday morning and placed atop the new Old Town Newhall Library.

Prior to liftoff, city staff members and residents were given permanent markers and encouraged to sign the frame, which will be housed with a decorative rooftop and special lighting at the top of the library.

The 14-foot-high steel tower will be a focal point for the library and for Old Town Newhall, said Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean.

Plans to bury a 50-year time capsule on Thursday were scratched because city officials want more residents and organizations to contribute items to be placed inside. Groups such as the Girl Scouts, Hart High Cheer team and the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates have already contributed items. The new deadline for contributions has not yet been set.

The new library is being erected at the intersection of Lyons Avenue and Main Street and is slated to open in mid-2012. The 30,000-square-foot facility will house 74 public-use computers, a fireplace reading room and an “enchanting children’s story room,” McLean said. It will replace an older and smaller existing Newhall Library on 9th Street.

City officials deposit items into the time capsule that will be buried under the new library for 50 years.

The time capsule. Photos by Austin Dave.