11 thoughts on “Library Offers To Move 1913 Building Facade to Western Side of Campus

    • You’re right— the 1913 building looks EXACTLY like a mausoleum—perhaps because it is one. Who knows how many mice have perished in those asbestos walls?! Incorporating any part of it depletes the value and the singular, beautiful impact of the new Library and green, but I admire the Library team for offering what was very clearly a tough compromise to an absolutely irrational group of people.

  1. This “compromise” will mar an elegant design with an ungainly structure that has no historical or architectural significance. This is an exercise in misplaced nostalgia that will blight the building for generations to come.

  2. I see a number of benefits to this proposed compromise: it maintains the 1913 fascade for people to enjoy for decades to come; it uses the 1913 fascade to screen the view from the green of the gas station which will dramatically improve the ambiance of the green; it circumvents the need to have Centerbrook Architecture amend the existing world-class design for the library and go “back to the drawing board” which would cause major delays, cost overruns, and complications; and it precludes the need to add yet another old building to the inventory of 50+ town buildings that the taxpayers are already maintaining.

  3. Seems like a very nice effort from the library to compromise beyond even the last compromise.(the only side that seems to be willing to budge). I can’t see how much more they should be forced to go without derailing the project. I mean I prefer it without this (with the new libraries original green space design), but they did find a creative way to literally keep the facade that people are attached to without compromising the integrity of the project. Hopefully the P&Z will move forward swiftly as materials are getting more expensive by the day and this has gone on far too long

  4. Calling preservationists “irrational” simply because they don’t agree with your point of view is just…exactly the problem here. Righteous and self-centered arrogance. Characterizing a different perspective as “misplaced nostalgia” is just incorrect and condescending. The most revered towns and cities in the world have found a way to modernize without bulldozing the past. I chose New Canaan because of its quaint village feel (and schools). If we stay on this path I fear we will become Stamford, or White Plains, or any other village-turned-city that just stands for nothing but…the fad of the moment.

    That never ends well over the long haul. I think we are being so short sighted here. A giant new library/facilities when technology is catapulting the world to a place where giant building spaces are being DEvalued (fast). In 20 years everything and anything will be obtained online or in a virtual reality setting and every American will have access to high speed data as they now have access to water.

    This will be a great “win” for some in 2021 but a great regret 20 years from now. And one that will be almost impossible to undo. Why do we want more neighboring towns coming to this new facility and creating traffic? Why don’t we just drive 4 minutes to Darien? Keep the traffic there.

  5. This compromise is an improvement over the Library’s prior suggestions (memorializing it in a limited-edition (i.e., unavailable) book, repurposing the stones into a stone wall), which were, frankly, offensive. However, 20 feet of the façade is not enough. And for reasons previously explained by many others, Keith Simpson’s plan would be far better for everyone.

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