HOULTON, Maine — Who doesn’t love a good makeover?
Usually though, makeovers don’t aim to add age.
But, then again, most makeovers don’t involve a 113-year-old library.
Cary Library’s giving its main entrance a major facelift and aiming to have the facade looking fabulous just in time for summer.
These before and after pictures show what the main entrance of Cary Library looks like now and what it will look like this summer when construction finishes. The library is replacing its doors and giving the entrance a special facelift to make it look similar to the original library building. (Contributed)
The goal, said Librarian Linda Faucher, is to replace their handicap-accessible doors and, in the process, make their main entrance look a little more like original library building.
“We had been having some trouble with our handicap-entrance doors,” explained Faucher. “And so we knew we needed to replace those.”
Those doors, she said, first greeted visitors in the 1990s and fixing the door issues sparked some reimagining of that main entrance.
Cary Library’s original building, the smaller granite structure that houses the children’s library, opened in 1904; the library’s main building was unveiled in 1969. The goal with this update: make the two look a little more similar.
“One of our trustees really took this on and drew up some different versions of what this [entrance] could look like and we received some grants and private donations to do the work,” said Faucher.
What’s in the final version?
Slate will replace the previous tin roof over the doors, matching the slate roof on the original library building. The storefront-style windows will be replaced, partly with new windows and partly with stone similar to what’s on the rest of the library. And the cherry on top? A dormer just above the entry doors.
“Yes, [the library] is a town building, but it’s a beautiful town building. I think the whole community feels that way,” said Faucher. “And I think this will be a beautiful update.”
Cost for door replacement hit just about $10,000, and the library received a $7,500 grant from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust to cover the bulk of those costs. The Town of Houlton will fund the balance. A grand total for the project was not immediately available, but the remaining balance is being funded through other grants and donations.
The library renovated their children’s section in 2007 and this is the first major renovation since then, according to Faucher.
