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Thursday, January 21, 2010
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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony cuts across many generations!
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony cut across many generations!
EverythingWestport.com
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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$1.4 million dollar donation from the Manton Foundation makes project possible.
With little flourish and no ceremonial pomp, Alaric Kropf, 7, and his brother Conrad, 12, of Carlisle,
Massachusetts cut the grand opening ribbon celebrating the completion of the Westport Free Public
Library’s expansion and renovation. The great grandsons of Sir Edwin Manton watched as the ribbon
fluttered to the ground, followed by the applause of the town residents, local and state dignitaries, and
trustees and staff of the Westport Free Public Library who had gathered for the occasion.
The Manton Foundation is no stranger to million dollar grants, having supported hospital research, library
expansions, and art galleries both here and abroad with gifts and endowments.
“Sir Edwin Manton, creator of the foundation, had summered in Westport for 40 years,’ said Hugh Morton,
Manton’s son-in-law.
According to UK’s The Guardian’s obituary, “Sir Edwin Manton, who has died aged 96, was a driving
force in the creation of the American International Group (AIG), a collector of paintings by Constable and
his contemporaries, and a generous benefactor to the arts, the church and medicine. Knighted in 1994 for
charitable services to the Tate Gallery he was, after Sir Henry Tate, the most generous benefactor in its
history and continued to involve himself in the affairs of the gallery well into his 90s.”
“His wry humour and sharp intelligence endured throughout his life and were a feature of the annual
meetings of the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, the trust which he had established in 1987 with an
endowment generated by a gift of AIG shares.”
“Edwin "Jim" Alfred Grenville Manton, businessman, art collector and philanthropist, born January 22
1909; died October 1 2005.”
Private donation funded expansion; town’s stabilization fund assisted in new roof.
“We are immensely grateful to The Manton Foundation for this generous gift,” said Pauline Dooley, the
library’s building committee chairperson.
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With construction of the addition completed, the Westport Free Public Library sports a new roof funded by
$56,000 from the town’s stabilization fund, and takes on a new look, both inside and out. The added
northeast wing was sorely needed and will provide new space for historical document archiving and other
activities. More parking is a plus. This public improvement project was well worth the money. The town
paid for the new roof; a private donation paid for the expansion, sort of like the old days when Yankee
thrift would yield to public need.
The new historical documentation room is 18’ by 28’, and can be easily secured and monitored.
“We have a new adult section,” head
librarian Sue Branco said. “We
enlarged our community room, and
have a new expanded children’s area.”
“We have named our new community
room the Manton Room in honor of Sir
Edwin Manton,” announced Dooley,
pictured to the left.
Students from Diman Regional
Vocational Technical High School
volunteered to shingle the building's
exterior according to Michael Coughlin,
Westport’s town administrator.
During the 18th and 19th centuries
Westport’s library had several homes, sometimes as many as four at one time, literally being in the
houses of town residents. For many years the small collection of books sat in storage, gathering dust as
no facility and little interest caused then to be abandoned. In the early 1900’s the library was moved to the
Wolf Pit School, sometime thereafter to the second floor of the Bell School at the Head of Westport,
where it remained for many years.
Left: March 20, 1949 - Westport Free Public Library at Central Village (town hall). Miss Barbara Speer (left) examines some
records as Miss Doris Smith (right) speaks to the librarian, Mrs. Charles Brightman. Right: December 6, 1908 – interior of
Westport Library (Little School House).
Library expansion doubles space.
The new addition provides more space for children’s and adult books sections, and enlarges the
community room and restrooms. Additionally, there is much more open space which gives the interior a
light airy feeling, and inviting atmosphere. A far cry for the dark and enclosed mood of earlier library
buildings.
Above left: Westport’s State Representative Michael Rodrigues said “This is a proud day to be a Westporter. Public
libraries have long been the center of communities. To be here and see this expansion is just wonderful.” Center: Library
Director Sue Branco told the audience, “We had the building’s mechanical systems updated.” Right: Improved cyber age
services have expanded the appeal of the library to both the young and the young-at-heart.
Above left: Library Building Committee Chairperson Pauline Dooley welcomed a large gathering to the dedication, and
gave a brief overview of the renovations. Right: the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’
representative Irving Zangwill was on hand and told the audience that they “should love, honor, and cherish your library.”
Westport resident and artist Sharon Andrade was commissioned to paint three panels with fairy tale scenes in the newly
expanded Children’s area.
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