Photograph courtesy of Schwartz Silver Architects.

Maine Historical Society’s Alida Carroll and John Marshall Brown Library

The expansion of the Alida Carroll and John Marshall Brown Library, the research library of the Maine Historical Society, is the first phase of Schwartz/Silver’s master plan for the institution. The 1907 library has been restored, and will be linked to a future museum by a corridor under the garden. At the rear of the old building, a 1960’s addition has been removed, and a new three-story wing takes its place. The new wing houses rare books in compact storage and a temperature and humidity controlled conservation environment. Behind the glassy west façade, large movable wood shutters modulate the light into the offices and meeting rooms that overlook the historic Longfellow garden.

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