June 18, 1908, was a beautiful day in Redding, Connecticut. The "Berkshire Special" train was making a stop in West Redding, Connecticut, to accommodate a very special new resident of the town- Mr. Samuel L. Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Residents of the town turned out in flower-bedecked carriages to escort this famous gentleman to his new home, Stormfield.
The town had been thinking about a public library for some time, and Mark Twain was persuaded to donate a collection of books as a core collection. Within weeks the library was opened in an unused chapel on Umpawaug Hill in Redding, just a short distance from his new home, and he was elected the first president of the Library Association. The new library was named in his honor-The Mark Twain Library. He gave the address at the first Annual Meeting on October 28, 1908, and then proceeded to work tirelessly with the help of his daughters, Jean and Clara, to get land and books donated for a permanent home for the library.
Money was raised for a building though a concert held at Stormfield ("every male guest will have to contribute a dollar or go away without his baggage"), and a gift was donated from his friend Andrew Carnegie. Before Mark Twain's death on April 21, 1910, he donated to the Association money he had received from the sale of land that had been owned by his daughter Jean, who had predeceased him in December 1909.
Theodore Adams donated land for the building, and the community continued to raise money for the original building, which opened with appropriate ceremony February 18, 1911. This building, built in a New England saltbox style, functioned as the Redding Library for 60 years, with many events (including a legendary library dance) providing funds for the library's operation.
Population growth in the 1950s and 1960s required that the library be expanded. Under the leadership of Virginia Kirkus Glick, a member of the Board of Trustees, a capital fund drive resulted in the building of a round concrete structure (architect Henry T. Moeckel and builder George Vitale) with a new basement onto which the original saltbox was moved. The original building became the library meeting room, with space for 100 people. The new building opened with great fanfare on June 18, 1972. The flat-roofed, round architecture was viewed with skepticism by the residents of this traditional New England town, but no one could deny the efficiency of operating a library where the supervisor could see the entire building by standing at the circulation desk.
Further population expansion in the 1980s, combined with rapid changes in information technology, created the need for renovation and expansion once again. In 1993 a community survey revealed that the residents understood the library's predicament, and a planning committee began a space evaluation of the existing building complex. After an architect selection process, Centerbrook Architects was hired and helped the Building Committee design a building program with space that would meet the following criteria:
• Serve as a community meeting place
• Offer expanded services for youth and after-school programs
• Provide space for varying public programs (including lectures,
dances, musical and theatrical presentations)
• House expanded collections
• Provide Internet access for both adults and children
• Provide comfortable space for reading and research
Groundbreaking for the addition took place in February 2000, and fundraising and construction were complete for the opening on December 2, 2000. The new addition screens the view of the round building and serves as the library entrance. Shape and materials complement the surrounding community architecture. The addition is the space for children, separating those activities from the main library. A children's picture book room and a story hour room flank each end of this rectangular space.
The center of the existing building was reshaped as a display area (vaguely reminiscent of a river boat paddle wheel). The display cases can be moved to allow larger public functions. At the far end of the central axis is a restored Walter Russell sculpture of Mark Twain and his characters. The architectural frieze around the entire facility is composed of quotes from Mark Twain's lectures and books. A quiet reading room was created from the original entrance to the round building, and curtains may separate this space from the rest of the library. All of the original windows remain, and the interior is filled with a sense of space and light.
The original saltbox building has been renovated for special collections, including the remaining books from Clemens' original donation. It is available for musical programs, meetings, and other public functions.
The staff has been given expanded space for workstations and technical services, and the library director finally has an office. The entire building is ADA accessible, and the interior spaces create an integrated flow, wedding three distinct styles of architecture into a pleasing whole.