LIBRARY NOTES
It is difficult to imagine an activity more antithetical to the workings of a library than the pouring of concrete, but in order to extend the third, fourth, and fifth floors into the lightwell above the main staircase on the east side of the building, that is just what we had to do. The first slab poured was the one directly over the main staircase. This was also one of the tensest parts of the entire renovation because this slab would be directly over the skylight we planned on restoring. The pouring had to be precise or there would not be enough room for the panes of glass, which were safely offsite being restored at Rohlf's Stained and Leaded Glass Studio in Mount Vernon, New York.
A dizzying view of the concrete
being poured up the side of the building.
On a Friday afternoon in late August, the hose pouring the concrete was hoisted up the side of the Library with the aid of a very tall crane and in through one of the front windows in the now demolished Large Study Room on the fifth floor. The hose was then led through a window on the east wall of the Large Study Room and down the lightwell so that the concrete could be poured into a frame our contractors had built. Again, a great deal of credit needs to be extended to our contractor John McBride of 30M Construction, who guided this difficult operation with a steady and confidence-inspiring hand.
Look closely and you can see a hose coming through the window
and down the side of the building.
The workmen could then proceed with pouring the slabs for the fourth and fifth floors, plus the new roof, while bricking up the new east side of the building.
The new space on the fifth floor was fully renovated and expanded, but the raw spaces on the third and fourth floors will remain unfinished until such a time as new renovation plans have been drafted and funding provided. We hope that these spaces will allow us to expand the Children's Library on the third floor and provide additional space on the fourth floor for staff offices and an enlarged Book Conservation Lab.
30M Construction president
John McBride (right) and a workman
after the first concrete pour.
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One of the workmen
bricking up the new east wall
of the building.
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