Leominster Public Library

The Leominster Public Library, founded in 1856, occupied a 1910 Carnegie style building by Hartwell, Richardson and Driver with a very plain 1966 addition. The downtown site posed severe constraints, with little space for expansion and a narrow lot.

The expansion project removed the 1966 addition, replacing it with a major addition to the rear of the original building. It presents a new face and entrance to Pearl Street, with a linear concourse linking the historic and new entrances. Browsing, non-print media, the Children’s Room and a meeting room are on this concourse, with the circulation desk at the center. The second floor houses Reference and Young Adults, a major focus for the Leominster Public Library’s programs. A third floor mezzanine houses part of the collection and provides infrastructure for future expansion.

The exterior uses the rusticated buff brick of the original building as a basis for a sympathetic new building, articulated to blend the scale of old and new, but with more contemporary fenestration and detail. The third floor is expressed as a roof element to maintain the cornice line at the height of of the historic building.

(In association with Beacon Architectural Associates, executive architect)