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across the east wall of the new room. Changes also
were made in cataloguing and staff rooms at the rear
as well as to the roof line.
Three years later, a flower conservatory called
the Palm Court, or Palm Room, was built and linked
by a narrow passage to the entrance foyer of the
children's pavilion.
MODERNIZING IN 1936
In 1936 an addition to the work room at the
rear of the library was designed by Philip J. Turner,
McGill professor of architecture. The library's
interior also underwent a dramatic modernizing.
The dark-coloured walls were covered by several
coats of cream-coloured paint. A revolving door was
placed at the main entrance. Sometime later,
fluorescent lights would be hung from the ceiling
coffers, all but obscuring them.
THE 1959 ANNEX
An entirely new building of contemporary
style was erected to the south of the Findlay
building. Designed by the firm of Dumford, Bolton,
Chadwick and Ellwood in 1958, construction began
and finished the next year forcing complete closure
of the library between June and October of 1959.
The new three-storey brick annex was linked to the
Interior of the
Children's
Pavilion in the
1920s shows
wall stencilling,
coffered ceiling
and fireplace
before the room
was divided into
offices in 1959.
main library but had a separate entrance leading
directly to the children's department on the entire
top floor. The first and second floors housed stacks.
At the same time, interior changes at Findlay
resulted in demolition of two of the original
columns in the lobby that have now been restored
in the latest project. The original children's pavilion
was divided into three offices and a corridor.
MORE CHANGES
It was not until 1967, when the firm of Aspler
and Kula Architects was hired to make more interior
changes, that the original double-sided fireplace and
colonnade bisecting the north room were demol-
ished. In 1975, two sandstone plaques from the
dismantled fireplace were placed either side of the
main entrance only to be quickly eaten away by
the elements.
While many of the changes reflected the mood
and necessity of the day, some were to be viewed in
retrospect as destroying irreplaceable interior charm.
By the time Westmount Public Library was
ready to celebrate its 85th anniversary in 1984, it
had a membership of 9,542, a book stock of almost
123,000 and a new microcomputer. It was entering
the electronic age.
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