Publication Date: Friday, December 31, 2004
History could interfere with future of Children's Library
History could interfere with future of Children's Library
(December 31, 2004) Renovating a historic building can be a 'puzzle'
by Jocelyn Dong
Long-awaited renovations of the Children's Library are expected to begin in July , adding 2,210-square-feet to the 3,400-square-foot facility That is, if debates over the historic architecture don't delay the process.
Earlier this month, members of the city's Historic Resources and Architectural Review boards met with the project architects, Architectural Resources Group, to review plans. The current designs call for lengthening the structure by 12 feet and adding a north wing, to create an "L," according to Wing.
Adding to an historic building can be an architectural puzzle, said Roger Kohler, an architect who chairs the Historic Resources Board. The library is a Category I historic building, which means it's "an 'Exceptional Building' of pre-eminent national or state importance" according to the city's Municipal Code. It continues: "These buildings are meritorious works of the best architects, outstanding examples of a specific architectural style, or illustrate stylistic development of architecture in the United States."
Matching the design, details and materials of old buildings is very difficult, so some architects prefer to adopt a completely contemporary style for additions, such as steel and glass.
"It's always an issue," Kohler said. "Typically, it doesn't take a whole lot for the trained eye to know what's been added. The level of 'how obvious is it?' becomes part of the issue."
The Architectural Review Board is known for its progressive design preferences, while the Historic Resources Board is tasked with ensuring the preservation of valued historic structures. The historic board makes recommendations to the Architectural Review Board.
"With these two boards, I'm not sure we're going to find a common ground that we're in love with it either way. It's a difficult project," Kohler said. But, he added, "We're all rooting for it to get done."
The Birge Clark-designed building on Harriet Street was completed in 1940, and has had nary a renovation. Today, children's story times and reading programs draw anywhere from 30 to 400 children at one time. Check-out lines of parents, kids and strollers extend down the hallway, and so many children wait for the single-stall bathrooms, librarians have to usher them into the staff restroom.
Plumbing back-ups and a lack of air conditioning also plagues the 64-year-old library. In the summer, staff turns off the lights to keep the children cool.
"They just bake in here," said one librarian.
The city's entire library system has caught the public's attention lately, after Library Director Paula Simpson recommended closing some branch libraries and building a new central facility instead.
Perhaps that's one reason the Children's Library plans have gone unnoticed, despite a massive fund-raising effort over the past few years for the $2.6 million project. On a recent afternoon, parents at the library were surprised to hear a renovation is planned, but seemed supportive nonetheless.
Nancy, a parent who declined to give her last name, stood at the check-out desk with a stack of videos and books for her two children and niece. A ticker-tape receipt printing out from a machine streamed with title after title.
"It's longer than my Safeway receipt," she quipped.
"It's a good thing to spend our money on," she said of the upgrades, citing her support of police, firefighters and library infrastructure.
She and the librarian bantered about some of the library's problems -- the plumbing, the lack of air conditioning
David Nordfors, who has a 4-year-old son, was pleased to discover the library the Monday after Christmas. On Tuesday, the family was back for more.
"We thought we had a high level of public service in Sweden, but this is even better," he said.
The library will be closed during renovations, which could take two years. In the meantime, part of the collection will be housed in the Main Library, and the Children's Library staff expects to run some of their programs there as well.
The Historic Resources Board is scheduled to continue its review of the library plans in January.
Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be e-mailed at jdong@paweekly.com
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