After a four-month closure, the Wellesley Hills Branch library officially reopened to the public on Oct 6, refreshed and ready to receive the books-loving public.
Located at 210 Washington Street, the historic Georgian Revival building has served as a library continuously since its opening on March 20, 1928. As it approaches its 100th anniversary, Hills, as the branch is affectionately known, is ready to receive admirers, readers, scholars, and history buffs.
Not too long ago, he library’s very presence took a precarious turn. Severe fiscal constraints forced the branch to shut its doors in 2005. Refusing to let their neighborhood branch vanish, dedicated library lovers rallied across town. Private donations breathed new life into the building, leading to its triumphant reopening in 2008.
Perhaps that happy ending isn’t altogether unsurprising, since the Hills branch from the start has been a community endeavor. According to a 1928 news report from the Wellesley Townsman, Isaac Sprague (the namesake of Sprague Elementary School, and Sprague Clocktower Park) donated the land on which the library is sited; the Wellesley Hills Women’s Club donated furniture for the Children’s Room; and taxpayers appropriated $50k to the endeavor.
Today the branch is supported by a blend of mostly taxpayer dollars alongside private philanthropy. But for today’s refresh, additional support was needed, and the community rallied once more. Seed money and major financial backing for the renovation were spearheaded by Nancy Lee. While initial reports kept her contribution quiet, a permanent plaque on the library wall now acknowledges her generosity, alongside a grand grandfather clock she gifted to the branch. The transformation was further powered by significant contributions from Keith Higgins, the Wellesley Free Library Foundation, and numerous private donors.
Wellesley Free Library Director Jamie Jurgensen and interior designer Richard Eustice of Atlantic House, Ltd. showed me around the restored space. For Eustice, working on the nearly century-old building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was special. “I felt really excited about reclaiming this beautiful space,” said Eustice. “You just don’t see architectural details like this in your normal daily life anymore. Libraries are one of the few places this kind of detail still exists.”
Eustice says every design choice was made to honor the building’s heritage while enhancing comfort. The original plaster friezes, which had been painted pink at some point over the decades, have been brought back to their original crisp white, allowing the relief work to pop dramatically against the walls. The main room’s original reading tables remain, anchored by a new carpet featuring a tile pattern in the nature-inspired hues of the Arts and Crafts movement. Directly underneath the carpet lie the library’s original 16×16 cork flooring tiles from 1928.
New overhead lighting fixtures hand-cast in bronze and alabaster by a Milwaukee firm specializing in period fixtures are artisanal objects in their own right, “not just mass-manufactured stuff,” says Eustice.
The children’s section now features new hardwood flooring, soon to be topped with a large braided rug for cozy story time sessions. Spanning the wall is a storybook mural by artist Jason Sawtelle of BlackBeak Studios, known locally for his 2018 murals at the Fells Branch Library.
Patrons can still access the upper level, equipped with a utilitarian table and several folding chairs. Even the bathroom got some attention, with new flooring, tile, and a fresh coat of paint.
“The goal was to create a more welcoming environment for study and reading while preserving the building’s history,” Jurgensen said.
With that goal met, looks like the Wellesley Hills branch library is official ready to inspire readers for its next 100 years.
