The Holyoke Public Library is a 40,000 SF Greek Revival library built in 1902. It's a library in a park, surrounded by a city block of green. We renovated and did a sizable addition to the existing library.

What we were trying to do was create a new entrance and library sequence that was more friendly and really invited the people into the library. Some folks felt very intimidated by the very grand entry of the historic building.

One thing about this, which was interesting for us. We really needed to go out and meet the people, and see what they wanted: the people of Holyoke. And we went everywhere. We went to community centers. We went to coffee shops, restaurants, schools. And first time ever, we went to a pool hall to get some feedback from folks.

For me, it's very important to preserve these historic buildings, because, really, it's part of the fabric of the neighborhood and especiallythis library because it's so prominent sitting in the park.

It was in such disrepair when we got it. There was a chain link fence around it because pieces of the facade were falling off, so we restored it back to its glory and did a wonderful new addition to welcome new residents to the building's historic charm.