The Haverhill Public Library’s $17 million overhaul is starting with a smash.
Library Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard J. Sheehan Jr.is scheduled to ceremonially swing a sledgehammer during Thursday’s celebration.
In addition to a new roof, large picture windows will replace the solid wall on the Summer Street side of the building and the entrance on Stage Street will be redesigned. Inside, a new teen area will be added and more small meeting spaces created. The children’s room will be opened up and a flexible multipurpose community room to replace the Johnson Auditorium. The electrical system and heating and air conditioning equipment, as well as the WiFi, will be upgraded
The program appears to complete removal of the library’s remaining 1969 Brutalist-style architectural elements that began with its 1997 renovation. Like the original 1875 library, the building will be privately paid.
While passersby may have noticed a chain link construction fence, the library will remain open during the renovation, expect to run through next May.
Library leaders floated the idea three years ago to undertake a capital campaign to pay for a major renovation at the corner of Main and Summer Streets. A bequest from Olive Reynolds Macdougall set plans in motion. Macdougall’s $14 million gift represents the single largest donation to a library in the Commonwealth from a private donor. Macdougall, long known for her generosity, including to Haverhill’s Whittier Birthplace, died in 2021 at 98.
Trustees are preparing to launch a public capital campaign to raise the additional $3 million. So far, the project has garnered $677,000 in pledges including $75,000 each from Haverhill Bank and George C. Wadleigh Foundation, shrinking the balance needed to $2.3 million, according to Cecily Craighill Davis, who is managing the drive.
Dignitaries planning to attend the sledgehammer event include Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners member Jessica Vilas Novas, who is from Haverhill; state Sen. Pavel M. Payano; state Reps. Ryan M. Hamilton and Andy X. Vargas; Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, who serves as the chair of the trustees; and Haverhill Ward 1 City Councilor Ralph T. Basiliere. In addition to Sheehan, members of the trustees include Kathy Bresnahan, Deborah Coletti, Joan Kimball, Daniel Lyons and Kate Veasey Sirois.