I was just visiting the Jones Library.  It is such a pleasure to pass by the Historical Society house, settled back at the end of its yard among the flowers, on its own lawn.  There is a space between it and the library, so that each is a separate structure. 

And then there is the library.  Along with the Town Hall and its Romanesque-styled red brick and stone monumentality, the Jones Library is the most handsome building in Amherst.  It presents an enjoyable view, no matter which side you approach it from.  And like the Historical Society, it is handsome because you can see its full sculptural form, standing separate enough from the surroundings to take it in as a distinctive  work of architecture.

I know that its design is not the original one, but largely a result of an expansion of the late 20th century.  But that expansion managed not only to preserve the original structure’s main facades, but to complement them by maintaining the same scale and style, and fitting its original footprint and silhouette. 

In my time in town I have seen how the need to develop the facilities of the Town Hall and Police Station (which was once housed in the Town Hall), resulted in building new facilities elsewhere in town. 

Imagine what the Town Hall would look like with the Bangs Community Center stuck on top of it, or jutting off one corner.  That might be gross, but, some architect could have designed a Romanesque-looking version of the Bangs Center and stuck that on top of it, or extended it out from the façade. 

Now go to the library’s website and take a look at the plans for adding a Bangs Center on its northwest corner.  The result might be as handsome a melding of the old and the new, as sticking a Bangs Center onto the Town Hall. 

But wouldn’t even that be a lot like attaching one of Tom Brady’s arms to the back of your shoulder? I mean, it would certainly enhance your throwing capabilities, but wouldn’t it also make you look a little less comfortable to work with?

What is there about the town’s library needs that could not be met better by redesigning some of the current structure’s many unused interior spaces and locating some of the developing needs at another location? 

Gary Michael Tartakov

Amherst

Gary Tartakov is an Amherst Town Meeting member.