Connecticut's Library Heritage
Throughout the 1800s, under the names Greenwich Town Library and Greenwich Reading Room and Library Association, a book-lending institution existed in such locations as the Second Congregational Church and on the second floor of the present Boswell's Drug Store. For a subscription fee, members could borrow an allotted number of books. About 1800, a small collection of books was acquired and circulated from the Ebenezer Mead House, later called the Maher House, an elegant white frame building near the foot of Putnam Hill. In 1805, a small number of Greenwich residents, each subscribing $6 a share, formed the Greenwich Town Library. Members were allowed to borrow one book for each share they owned. In 1877, the library opened a reading room on the second floor of the Moshier Building at the northeast corner of Greenwich Avenue and Lewis Street. Beginning in 1878, nonsubscribers were allowed to use books on the premises for the first time; still, only dues payers could borrow books.On March 15, 1878, the library was incorporated by Joint Resolution of the Connecticut General Assembly as "The Greenwich Reading Room and Library Association...provided, no by-law shall be repugnant to the laws of this state or of the United States." It was stipulated that the act should "take effect when accepted by majority vote of the members...on or before the twenty-fifth day of March, 1878."
In 1884, the library moved to larger quarters in the Ray Building across the street. In 1895, Elizabeth Milbank Anderson gave the town a new building for the library in memory of her parents, Jeremiah and Elizabeth Lake Milbank. She offered to erect a new building if a lot could be obtained and if the library provided "free service to all town residents." The first stipulation was met immediately. Fellow citizens amassed $11,500 to purchase the land where the current Saks Fifth Avenue stands on Greenwich Avenue. The second stipulation took longer to realize. Although the building was opened in 1895, services were not made free until 1899.
In 1897, the library received $500 from Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century industrialist who did so much to foster the free library movement in the United States. The library was incorporated by Joint Resolution of the Connecticut General Assembly on May 24, 1899, "for the promotion of useful knowledge" under the name The Greenwich Reading Room and Library Association and as "a free public library and reading room." It was stipulated that the act should take effect when "accepted by a majority vote of the members on or before July 1, 1899. The name was changed to The Greenwich Library by act of the state legislature on March 26, 1907.
In 1901, library supporters matched an additional $10,000 donation by Mrs. Anderson, and that endowment supported the library until 1917, when the corporation turned to the taxpayer. The town appropriated $1000 for operating expenses, thus beginning the enduring partnership of public and private funding.
In 1929, $125,000 was raised privately for a substantial addition. Records show that by 1930 the town appropriated $36,000 for the library. Library activity was dominated by librarian Isabelle Hurlbutt, an early feminist and ardent devotee of music, art, and outstanding library service. She was at the core of the library "membership" and almost single-handedly selected the corporate family according to her view of who would best serve the cultural and financial interests of the library.
In the mid 1950s, the library had outgrown its space and initiated a $600,000 capital campaign to enlarge the Greenwich Avenue building. The campaign was not a success and failed to reach half its goal. However, the town appropriated $100,000 for the development fund, and the decision was made to purchase and remodel the Franklin Simon department store building. Following a successful second campaign, the library achieved its goal. The remodeling contract was awarded to Adams-Erickson. On March 14, 1960, the library moved to its present location. Additional land north and east of the building was later acquired through gift and purchase.
In 1969, an addition housing the Cole Auditorium (named for trustee Marie Cole) was built with the capability to sustain a second floor above the auditorium and the area containing the non-fiction books. A "Raise the Roof" drive in 1978 resulted in the completion of the second floor in September 1981, enlarging library space by 8000 square feet. At the same time the east mezzanine was redesigned to house nine study rooms and a quiet reading area. In 1983, a mezzanine was added to the main reading room, opening up the original arched windows and adding seating capacity. Later fundraising appeals increased second floor office space and added the Cafe in the lower level.
In 1992, the library received a $25,000,000 bequest from the estate of Clementine Lockwood Peterson, the largest gift ever made to a community library in the United States. In her will, Mrs. Peterson established an independently-controlled foundation to disburse the funds and expand the business and music collections in memory of her husband, J. Whitney Peterson, and son, Jonathan.20. $16.5 million was used for the construction of the new wing. The remaining portion of the bequest has been invested to generate income for the operation and maintenance of the new wing.
The library trustees' Long-Range Planning Committee had for several years studied changing use patterns and the design limitations of the Franklin Simon building. Mrs. Peterson's extraordinary gift enabled trustees and staff to think more comprehensively and creatively about the library's future. A decision was made to remain at the present site and add a 32,000 square foot wing which would function as an integrated whole with the existing structure. Cesar Pelli & Associates were named as architects.
Library trustees recognized that many areas of the existing structure required renovation and modernization to meet the demands for service and changes in technology, to rectify inadequate parking, and to realize goals established by the Planning Committee and Master Building Plan. A capital campaign was launched, which raised $11,250,000 from the community for the renovation and modernization of the original building including $2,300,000 for the construction of a permanent home for the branch in Cos Cob. The Peterson Wing officially opened June 12, 1999. Renovation of the existing building will be completed in early 2000. The Cos Cob Library opened in September 1999 (see November's CL).
When architect Cesar Pelli was commissioned to build the Peterson Wing, he envisioned a place where all the residents of the community could share a common passion: their love of learning. It would be a building that forged Pelli's modernity with the rich texture of the library's history. "One of the things that excited from the very beginning was that this library was an incredibly popular public place," the former dean of the Yale School of Architecture recalls. "Everybody, from every walk of life goes there, from very old people coming in on canes, to children listening to stories and their mothers and fathers, with their arms filled with books." Mindful of the broad reach of the library and its special place in this city, Pelli designed the new wing with Main Street USA in mind. He thinks of it as the contemporary counterpart of the Italian piazza in the 16th century.
Pelli designed a structure that would not only fit in with the landscape of its surroundings but also would have a distinct signature. On the building's east end, a tower with a myriad of small windows-a structure that is both contemporary and medieval in its presence-houses a reading room combining the geometries of a triangle and a circle. "The first thing you see walking from the downtown, is a fresh form-like nothing else in Greenwich-a signal, a beacon, welcoming all to come," Pelli says. Inside, a slate-topped library table occupies the center of a luminescent, wood-paneled room equipped with 18 data drops for laptop computers. Pelli conceived of a town square by the library's main desk. "After entering the building and traveling right along Main Street, one passes the New Book Area and Check-Out areas on the way to the original part of the library," he explains. "Walking left along Main Street, patrons encounter the Reference Area and the Peterson Business area." The new wing also houses 50 carrels, each equipped with PCs with Internet access, a gift from IBM. The second level includes another public gathering space, the library's large music collection, a 100 x 25 foot art gallery, and music listening areas. The two-story structure, surrounded by courtyards planted with unusual specimens, boasts two large expanses of curved glass, keeping it open to the street. Diana Balmori, landscape designer and Pelli's wife, designed the outdoor spaces.