Groton Public Library

The Groton Public Library, designed by Arthur Rotch, has been a part of the historic center of Groton since 1894. The new three level addition sits behind the original building, preserving and restoring the original building on Main Street. The Children’s Room occupies the lowest level, with fiction and popular reading on the middle level and reference and non-fiction on the street level at the top. The interiors are characterized by rich color and oak detail. At the top floor, a skylit reading room with curved walls recalling the walls of the original bay houses the reference/reading area.

The exterior of the addition takes its cues from the buff brick and Georgian details of the original building. To the west, it gives a new public face to the library, with generous windows in the reading area bays enjoying westerly views across the recreation fields to the hills beyond.

(Richard Smith was Project Architect for Stahl Associates)