This page is devoted to information about the proposed Old Town Hall-Library project, or as some call it the new Library Community Center in Sunapee. It includes articles, images, links, and resources.
♦ Town Meeting and Election Day is Tuesday, March 9th and on the town warrant are two articles (#23 and petition article #25) that specifically relate to the project. Download/view Warrant Articles 2010.
♦ In response to an anonymous letter that many Sunapee residents received in the mail a week before voting day, the chairman of the Abbott Library Building Committee has issued a statement, which is available on the Abbott Library website and via SunapeeNews.com. Go to: http://sunapeenews.com/2010/03/04/sunapee-library-supporters-respond-to-anonymous-mailer/
♦ Below: Architectural rendering that was shown at the town’s deliberative session February 2, 2010. This view from across the Sugar River depicts the building as envisioned in the current concept plan.
CONCEPT PLAN
By James Wassell, Rock Maple Studio, Sunapee: The Sunapee Old Town Hall-Library as envisioned in the current concept plan.
By James Wassell, Rock Maple Studio, Sunapee: The Sunapee Old Town Hall-Library as envisioned in the current concept plan.
A new wing (to the right) would replace the old police department section. The plan is to rehabilitate the landmark building for library and community use while preserving many of its historic features including the Clock Tower and interior horse ramp. The Riverwalk would continue to run through the lower level, an area that would be available for non-library community use….perhaps for recreation, the Thrift Shop, and other uses allowed by the town. For copies of informational materials, email: OTHLibraryProject@gmail.com
Informational OTH-Library Flyer
For more information about the concept plan: Download the informational flyer OTH-Library Project Info (PDF 320 KB). It describes the plan and provides contacts for those that want more information and want to provide support. Supporters of the proposed civic project are asked to contact Barbara Sullivan, Sunapee, or email: OTHLibraryProject@gmail.com
Build for the Future: Architectural & Site Plan Renderings
View/download: Build for the Future PDF 664 KB – This informational page includes a re-cap of the concept plan, two graphics, and a statement from State Architectural Historian James Garvin and John Walden, director of Abbott Library.
What’s different now?
This comparison details how the current concept plan responds to concerns expressed in 2002 over use of the Old Town Hall for a library. In a handy, side-by-side format, it addresses parking, layout, space, structural and other concerns. The informational page was prepared from material produced by the Abbott Library Building Committee. View/download: 2002 SGH Comparison (PDF 139 KB)
Abbott Library Building Committee PowerPoint Presentation is Available Here
The PP presentation has been shown and discussed at numerous public meetings this winter. Presentations have been made at the town’s deliberative session; at meetings with the Selectboard, Recreation Committee, and Sunapee Seniors; and a Building Committee roundtable discussion on February 16. Compiled by Building Committee Chair Barbara Chalmers, it includes data and information from library resources and studies and the Old Town Hall Committee. To download/view the PP presentation, (file size is 2.8MB), click on: PP Library-Old Town Hall Info
Roundtable Announcement and Concept Plan Architectural Renderings by Diana Piotrow, New London
IN THE NEWS
State Architectural Historian James L. Garvin comments on Sunapee Old Town Hall-Library proposal:
The adaptive re-use of this landmark building would not only represent an inspired example of historic preservation, but would place the new library in the very heart of Sunapee Harbor, the town’s historic village center….
A building that is imbued with so much history, pride, and symbolic identity is a treasure such as few communities can boast of. It would be fitting if this structure, so interwoven into Sunapee’s community fabric, could assume yet another life of service as the town’s meeting place and intellectual heart.
Read Jim Garvin’s remarks in full
Building Committee Roundtable Discussion Feb. 16th
The new Sunapee library-Old Town Hall concept plan and warrant article 23 was the subject of a roundtable discussion hosted by the Abbott Library Building Committee on February 16 at the Town Office meeting room at 7 p.m. Guest speaker Maggie Stier, the field service representative for the NH Preservation Alliance, presented information that can be viewed below.
For more information about the plan and Article 23: Download the informational flyer OTH-Library Project Info (PDF 320 KB).
View the PowerPoint presentation by Maggie Stier. NOTE the file size, 5.3 MB. Sunapee Funding Talk (Feb. 16, 2010)
HISTORY
The Old Town Hall – S.A. French Livery Stable
By Ron Garceau, President, Sunapee, NH Historical Society
“This landmark building located between Main Street and the Sugar River was built in the late 1880s. An early photo shows a different looking building with a sign on it that says: M.F. Knowlton Livery and Feed Stable. Just beyond it in the photo is the Sunapee Harbor Hotel….” Read – download here: OTH History… (PDF – 451 KB)
MORE INFO & RESOURCES
See the Old Town Hall Committee website for more info and images. http://www.sunapeeoldtownhall.org/
Find related Sunapee News articles:
Sunapee Voters Will Consider New Idea for Old Town Hall
New Plans Emerge for Sunapee Old Town Hall
New Sunapee Library in Old Town Hall?
LINKS
Abbott Library – Sunapee NH
Sunapee Old Town Hall – Sunapee NH
Friends of Abbott Library – Sunapee NH
Gilmanton Library Year Round Library Association – An example of what’s happening in Gilmanton, NH
NH Division of Historic Resources
WebJunction – On-line services supporting library organizations
Sunapee News welcomes info and links related to libraries, historic preservation and the re-use of historic town buildings for community benefit.
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