555 Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library, Wilton, New Hampshire

 

Last Wednesday I set out to visit three libraries. The town of Wilton had a nice writeup in the Sunday paper; the other two were geographically convenient. Which, as we shall see, really wasn't relevant. I arrived, as I often do, at the "not in use" front door, but that was fine because I got pictures from three sides. Here's the 110-year-old (give or take a year) original front of the library.

Curving sidewalks go up  to the library from both sides. There are some lights to guide a walker after dark. Those white bundles on the right are not, as I thought, more lights. They are posts that will blossom forth with pages for Story Walks next Spring.

We're getting close to the back door, which is the active door. This appears to be an area for children's programs.  

On the grounds of the big Free Library we find a Little Free Library. A very attractive one. More than one person has suggested that Little Free Libraries are competition for public libraries. Not an issue, folks. I see more and more Little libraries on the grounds of Big libraries, or nearby. (Hill, New Hampshire, is just one example. See those steps? That's where we're headed next. 

This is when I realized that I was arriving backwards. There is a parking lot up here, and the bridge on the left provides accessible access.

Now we're approaching the active door with a sign reminding us to mask up if we plan to go in and browse.

Now is the time to admit that I had no idea what would greet me inside. And I didn't do it justice, because I was rather slow to catch on to what I had discovered. Here we go. Let's go in and get permission for picture-taking.

Permission granted, and I set out to look at the various rooms. This one, with new books on display and various graphics above the top shelf is very attractive. I often see rooms like this in libraries of a certain age.

But wow! I do not often see tiled floors like this.

Above the tiles, the room is painted with panels and pictures like these. All the way around. In retrospect, this is when I should have discovered the brochure available for a self-guided tour. I may need to return to Wilton and do the tour...and then update this entry. And that is something very rare for me.

If you look closely at the window seat and at the window, you'll notice the curve. Mr. Gregg, the original benefactor, I was told, made his fortune by figuring out how to make curved glass for windows. 

This fireplace is in the room that was the original children's room. Let's take a closer look.

Aren't these tiles neat? 

One of my rules is that I should always look up when visiting a library. And I did here, sort of. I somehow missed the brightly lighted oculus. I really do need a do-over for this visit.

The handsome table and chair look like they might be original furniture.

I stepped briefly into an entry from the real front door and found this handsome staircase. No, I wasn't tempted to go up.

Another fireplace, plain and beautiful.

The giant Teddy bear is a nice touch, but what really caught my eye was the "book cushions" beneath the seat. You can't tell from the picture, but they represent six of the Harry Potter volumes. Chalk these up to the "something I've not seen in any other library."

Handsome curved shelves and more of those curved windows.

Here's another "never before seen" -- A hot water radiator suspended from the ceiling!

Here's the heart of the children's library, where Miss Boo reads to her youngest visitors. Love the rug!

Picture books, nice and low, and some decoration painted on the walls.

More picture books. The pillow on the couch exhorts us to "STOP AND READ."

And then, my camera quit. I don't generally have to charge it; it gets charged whenever I plug it in to download pictures. But I hadn't been doing much of that lately. So it just quit on me. Well, I guess it tried to get my attention, but I wasn't looking in the right place.

So I really think I have to return to Wilton. And then there's the little matter of the other two libraries that had been on my agenda for the day. That settles it, I will return. When? I have no idea. Some nice day. And I'll start with a fully-charged camera and a self-guided tour!