The new Peninsula Community Library (PCL) is now open for business. The grand opening took place this morning at 10 a.m., and Old Mission Peninsula residents crowded into the community room to celebrate the library and have a look around the brand new farmhouse-style building designed by Cornwell Architects and built by Grand Traverse Construction.
When the closing of Old Mission Peninsula School threatened the future of the library several years ago (were you at the meeting where Josh Wunsch stood up and offered to buy the school back from TCAPS for a dollar?), library director Vicki Shurly was not deterred. In January 2016, she told the OMP community, “You will always have a library on the Old Mission Peninsula,” and sure enough, she was right.
Help Support Old Mission Gazette - Click Here
In September 2016, the PCL Board voted to begin planning the construction of a new library on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road – land purchased by a forward-thinking library board way back in the 1990s. Because as Vicki reminds us, there’s no way the library could have afforded to buy that same 5.25 acres on the Old Mission Peninsula today.
In February 2017, a team-building meeting took place, and committees were formed to spearhead the construction, design, fundraising, communications and more. In May 2017, an anchor donation of $750,000 was pledged by Bill and Nancy Davy, and the library was well on its way to reaching their $2.5 million goal to build the library.
Pig roasts, fundraising events, a historic groundbreaking, midnight cement-pouring and many, many decisions later, that library is now a reality. Read the full timeline of events here.
In fact, as the ribbon on the library’s new front door notes, it’s “a gift to the community” BY the community. The number of people who came together to make it happen is astounding – and you can see them on the donor wall as you walk in the front door.
The grand opening festivities this morning included introductions of the board, building and design crew, and much more, including a special interlude by Tim Carroll and his “talking” African drum (which said, “Thanks for the donations, keep ’em coming”).
Peninsula Community Library will now be open for regular hours, so stop by and check out the beautiful new building, kids area, teen room, coffee bar, Johnson-Carroll History Room, Mary Johnson Fireplace, donor wall, Neahtawanta room, community room and more. Library hours are:
- Monday and Thursday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Check out a few photos from the grand opening, and we’ll see you at the library!
Also Read…
Peninsula Community Library Hosts Reception for Major Donors – Photo Gallery
[…] photos of the Grand Opening here, and photos of the special reception for major donors here. This project is the epitome of a […]
[…] Library is open for business on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road – see photos here and here – what better way to celebrate than with the annual Book Sale hosted by the Friends […]
[…] Peninsula Community Library as they started the process of building the new library (which recently opened to the public), Secret Garden at Brys Estate, Chateau Chantal, Neahtawanta Inn, OMP United Methodist Church, Bay […]
[…] Community Library recently opened at its new location at 2893 Island View Road (on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road) on the Old Mission […]
[…] New Peninsula Community Library Now Open – Grand Opening Photos […]
[…] the South Pacific, a getaway after the incredible but busy three years of planning and building the new library. We spent a few splendid days in Oahu, Hawaii, and a few vibrant days in busy Sydney, Australia, on […]
[…] just a short time ago (last September – though it seems so long ago now!), we celebrated the opening of our brand new library on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road, and how so much has happened since that time. […]
[…] is a resource, a gathering place, and a community center through good and difficult times. We made this happen for each other and […]
[…] and quiet and views of two bays. The library opened in a lovely new farmhouse style building just a little more than a year ago, but the pandemic forced us to close for three months. Life is still not normal. Not sure we even […]
[…] along on the north end of the Old Mission Peninsula. As with the new Peninsula Community Library last year, once construction began on the fire station a few weeks ago, the building has rapidly taken […]
[…] at Peninsula Community Library, we are thankful for so many things – our lovely new library built by all of you, our kind and caring patrons young and old, and all of the many people who give […]