A Long Island library with roots in the women’s suffrage movement and a notorious midcentury arson has been added to the National Register of Historic Places following a years-long campaign by staff and volunteers.
The Lynbrook Library, which opened in 1929 and was designed by architect Hugh Tallant, received the federal designation this month after a multi-year push that library leaders said acknowledged the building’s architectural and community significance. "It’s a beautiful building and it got the recognition we all felt it deserved," Lynbrook Library Director Robyn Gilloon told The Post.
Library staff said the building’s origins link directly to a local women’s suffrage organization known as the Friday Club, which in 1913 advocated for education and community services while meeting at various locations in the area. The group recruited Tallant, who had worked on prominent New York venues including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Lyceum Theatre and the New Amsterdam Theatre, to design the permanent reading room. Architectural details reportedly include nods to Athena, the Greek goddess associated with wisdom.
Longtime reference librarian Kathleen Curran led much of the application work for the National Register listing, taking on what she described as four years of detailed work to assemble the nomination and uncover historical records. Gilloon said the application process and the library’s selection as a finalist in April have prompted many residents to call and share memories of the building.
The Lynbrook Library has served as a community center for nearly a century. After decades of local use and population growth in Nassau County following the migration of city residents to the suburbs, the library suffered a major setback in 1956 when a custodian, identified in historical records as Charles H. Sharp, set a fire. Archival materials from the Lynbrook Fire Department indicate the blaze was intended to conceal a theft of $78 from the library’s main desk and caused damage that would amount to about $1.1 million in today’s dollars.
The building was repaired and later expanded in 1992 to meet demand and to avoid relocation, a development library leaders have credited with preserving the structure’s place in the town. Staff members said the expansion, combined with its continued role as a public resource, strengthened the case for national recognition.
With the National Register listing official, staff and longtime patrons have reflected on the library’s layered history. Gilloon said the announcement has prompted a wave of phone calls from former residents and seniors who wanted to reminisce about the building’s earlier days.
The library will mark its 100th anniversary in 2029. Library officials and volunteers who contributed to the nomination have described the federal recognition as the culmination of sustained preservation and research efforts that recovered aspects of the building’s civic and cultural history.