History:
Opened in 1891, the library was originally located in the Woodstock Opera House. The library moved to its Judd Street location in 1959. The 4000 sq ft building was designed by local architect William Fyfe, a former student of Frank Lloyd Wright. The brick pillars throughout the reference area are from the 1959 building.
The library underwent two more expansions in 1966 (Fyfe, architect) and in 1987. The 1987 expansion by the architectural firm of O'Donnell Wicklund Pigozzi of Deerfield increased the library size to nearly 23,000 sq. ft. and added upper and lower levels to the building. Originally the Children’s Room and a meeting room were located in the lower level and the adult nonfiction and reference collections were on the upper level. The entrance to the building was moved to the west side, from the parking lot, instead of the original front door location on Judd Street with a back entrance from the north side driveway.
The 2001 expansion of the library by Frye Gillan Molinaro Architects of Chicago retained the upper and lower levels of the 1987 building and the brick pillars from the 1959 building. The 43,000 sq. ft. revision of the library moved the Children’s Room to the main floor of the library, and provides a variety of meeting spaces from study rooms to meeting rooms.
The antique oak tables located in the Margaret Marchi Reading Room are from the library’s first days in the Woodstock Opera House in the 1890s. The slanted table and benches in the Children’s Room and several adult fiction display stands are from the 1959 and 1966 renovations. Much of the upper level furniture is from the 1987 addition. The two large portable display cases are new, created for the library by John Scharres, Managing Director of the Woodstock Opera House.
