Malden Public Library

The Malden Public Library, completed in 1877, was the last of H.H. Richardson’s great public libraries. As the cultural center of the community, the building has accommodated expanding library functions, galleries for a significant art collection, and program space for recitals and meetings. Responding to needs for more flexible space, Stahl Associates designed a major addition to house routine library functions, preserving the original building for gallery use and special collections. Earlier additions are integrated into the overall design to house meeting, staff and bookstack uses.

An interior concourse links the old and new portions. The library is accessible from both the original entrance and the side street entrance. This entrance has been enhanced with an entry plaza to reinforce its image as a major entrance. The exterior responds to the historic building massing with a series of discrete elements producing a rich roofscape; the color and texture of the exterior masonry and the scale and pattern of fenestration reinforces a harmonious composition of old and new.

(Richard Smith was project architect for Stahl Associates)