Project Description
Colantonio restored the historic Jamaica Plain Branch Library, the oldest and busiest branch of the Boston Public Library. The 1911 building, which sits on the corner of South and Sedgwick Streets, had its last renovation in 1936.
We removed, repaired and reinstalled the original, single-pane windows, the massive oak front door, the exterior steel railings and sections of the slate roofing.
The existing tile floor mosaic is composed of approximately ¾” unpolished square stone tiles with a white main field and black, white, and green bands at the perimeter of the vestibule. Each color field contains a range of hues that are produced by natural variations within the stone used for each field. The tile band was composed of three colors of green that had to be matched and special ordered and replaced in broken sections to match the existing tile as closely as possible.
A glass-enclosed, 2,500 square foot addition houses the new main entry, community meeting spaces, workrooms, a makerspace and a reading terrace. Other upgrades include new restrooms, mechanical systems, finishes and exterior landscaping.
