NewCanaaanite.com recently received the following letter(s) to the editor. Please email letters to editor@newcanaanite.com for publication here.
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Editor-
A part of our history has just been ripped away from us. Our beautiful 1913 Library was not preserved the way it should have been. It was not treated in a way it deserved.
This handsome and familiar landmark, in its perfect setting, kept alive the wonderful experiences that families and children have enjoyed in this building for over 100 years.
The building was misjudged by many people who had no way of knowing that this stunning piece of architecture was not at all in bad shape, and not at all incomplete. The back stone wall of the original building was just revealed as it was being partially demolished. It had been lovingly preserved and only covered by a thin wall. Each time an addition was added on the original building, it was honored and saved with great care. It was a complete building after all.
Now the 1913 Library has been halved and gutted. The beautiful interior of the Salant room is gone. The lovely murals made for that room by a local artist are in storage, and who knows where we ever see them again.
This was a gift from the past. An antique to cherish and enjoy. Yes – something will be saved of this building, but so many residents and town leaders were hoping for more. After all, the biggest donor to the library has always been us – the taxpayers.
Patricia Funt Oxman
New Canaan