Long Island Town Hopes to Move Carnegie Library for Hotel
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Jan. 12, 2009
1906 Carnegie Library, Patchogue, N.Y.
Credit: Patchogue Historical Society
One of the few Carnegie libraries on Long Island may be saved if local residents can move the building and raise funds for its restoration.
The board of trustees of Patchogue, N.Y., has convinced Setauket-based developer TRITEC Real Estate Company, Inc., to move the abandoned building. TRITEC intends to build a new town square, 240 condo units, a 37,550-square-foot retail complex, and a 100-room hotel, on the site.
The historic library, dedicated in 1908, has been closed since 1981, when it was sold to Briarcliffe College.
Village officials have proposed moving it to a village-owned parking lot, according to Lori Devlin, one of six trustees on the board that acts as the city council. After that, a local arts society will raise the money to renovate the library and create a museum inside.
"I don't think we're too worried [about the loss of the library]," Devlin says. "If [the relocation] is feasible, we're all committed to make it happen."
Devlin says Patchogue's leaders spearheaded the successful renovation of a downtown vaudeville theater, so they are enthusiastic about saving the library. "[The theater] has made such a big difference in our downtown," Devlin says. "We have a lot less vacancies. People come in for a show, and they stick around. It's created a different vibe."
The village lost an old lace mill, a complex of red-brick buildings constructed between 1880 and 1920, almost 10 years ago. "Historic structure preservation has long had a dismal track record in these environs," says Patchogue librarian and historian Mark Rothenberg. "I'd like to see [the library] saved."
Hans Henke, village historian, agrees. "It always has been an outstanding building in the village, and it would be a shame if that building was lost," Henke says. "All this is a question of money. Where's the money going to come from, and who's going to be interested in sinking money into it?"
Read more about Carnegie libraries
Philadelphia To Close 11 Historic Libraries
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