Razing a storm of discontent
Seminary wants to close the book on the Speer Library building
Friday, September 26, 2008
BY NAOMI NIX
Special to the Times
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Drawing objections from the local historical review board, the Princeton Theological Seminary has unveiled plans to demolish its 51-year-old Speer Library to make room for a bigger library with better organization and energy-saving technology.
Seminary representatives said the stone building with relief work is not an artistic treasure and has many design flaws that can't be fixed without a complete replacement.
Local preservationists are opposed to a demolition of the building because, they say, the 1957 Speer Library at 25 Library Place is an integral part of a historic neighborhood.
Speer, located in the Mercer Hill Historic District, would be the first building razed in any of the borough's historic districts since their formation 23 years ago, said Kirsten Thoft, vice chairwoman of the borough's historic preservation review committee, which opposes Speer's demolition.
Instead, Thoft and other critics want more consideration given to keeping and renovating the existing library.
A preliminary plan to knock down the structure was discussed at a concept hearing before the Princeton Regional Planning Board last week.
The new plan would "give the seminary a much more usable, functional library that also expresses (seminary) values," said David Fixler, an architect working for the Presbyterian school, which prepares students for lives as religious leaders.
Officials described a number of shortcomings in the existing library building, including a poor layout, low ceilings, crowded storage space, a roof that needs replacing, leaking pipes and a lack of accommodations for people with disabilities.
But in an interview yesterday, another facilities consultant for the seminary offered a kinder description of the Speer Library.
"It's a well-designed building," said Penelope Watson, a principal with the Bridgeton-based Watson & Henry Associates architecture firm, which has been working for the seminary on an assessment of all of its buildings.
And being more than 50 years old, Speer is eligible to be considered for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, although that process has not been initiated, Watson said.
The library, designed by George A. Licht and George T. Licht, was named after Robert E. Speer, a leader in the Presbyterian Church who was elected to the seminary's board of trustees in 1914.
Fixler described the Speer Library as "a nice building, but ... not a great building. There is not a reputable architect or historian who will tell you otherwise."
Thoft, herself an architect, said it's too soon to write off the existing library.
"The committee is deeply concerned about the demolishment of this historic structure," and the "precedent-setting nature" of the expansion plans, she said.
In an eight-page memo issued to the planning board, the committee criticized the seminary for not fulfilling all the requirements necessary to allow for demolition of a building in a historic district.
Namely, the seminary didn't prove that it cannot put the building to "reasonable use" or that the existing building is an "undue hardship on its owners," according to the memo.
Seminary representatives said the expansion would give library patrons and staff opportunities to enjoy a café and greater natural light while providing additional study places and more efficient book storage.
The new library also would recycle rainwater for irrigation and use energy-saving techniques in its interior design.
Fixler said the Speer building holds little historical significance and suggested that the new library would enhance the Mercer Hill district's architecture.
The proposed design offers a contemporary feel but may include some of the original materials of the existing building.
"We don't feel that, by putting up this new building, we will be adversely affecting the historic district," Fixler said.
Seminary representatives said the school's planning team looked into simply renovating Speer Library but decided renovation couldn't solve all the shortcomings the building has.
In addition to Speer Library, the seminary also has the Henry Luce III Library, which opened in 1994 with a capacity for 350,000 volumes. Speer can hold 400,000 volumes within its 110,000 square feet. Its replacement would encompass an additional 20,000 square feet.
At the concept hearing, residents expressed concerns that the seminary wasn't taking into consideration how the new building would affect those living nearby.
"There is talk of the campus, talk of the world, but not talk of the town," said Rob Robertson, who lives in the Mercer Hill district.
The seminary says notices were sent to all residents living within 200 feet of the campus to attend a review meeting, but nobody showed up.
"We will have other opportunities," said Stephen D. Crocco, a seminary librarian.
Officials for both the preservation committee and the seminary said they are ready to talk with each other before the concept hearing resumes in November.
And Fixler said "there will inevitably be some changes as the design evolves."
Staff writer Robert Stern contributed to this report.
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