PORT TOWNSEND – The majority of public comments taken over the weekend on the city library’s preliminary expansion designs are favorable, the library’s director said Monday.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people really liked the concept, the design direction,” said Theresa Percy.
Raising particular enthusiasm was the plan to return the historic Carnegie Room, on the second floor and fronting Lawrence Street, to a reading room with a Lawrence entrance.
As proposed, library expansion would add a second floor of 4,690 square feet.
On the first floor, 5,110 square feet would be added, mostly around the perimeter of the building built as a Carnegie Library in 1913 at 1221 Lawrence St.
“I think they recognize a lot of the challenges of the site,” Percy said of the public’s impression of the existing library location.
Percy and Jim Cary with Seattle-based Cardwell Architects unveiled the initial designs during a forum Saturday so residents could comment on what they saw.
The idea is to come up with a community vision for the library’s future.
