By the Editorial Board, Rockford Register Star.
Rockford Public Library plan is one time we can have the best of both worlds. We can have beautiful green space along the Rock River in downtown Rockford, and we can have a world-class library. We can have a library that occupies its historic site at the heart of the city, and we can have a facility whose design takes full advantage of the riverfront.
All on someone else’s dime.
It’s a winning scenario unlike any other ever presented in the city of Rockford. It’s an opportunity to make the library a catalyst for other downtown development and get rid of one of the biggest mistakes ever made on the riverfront. It’s also an opportunity to create a library that meets the needs of the 21st century.
Rockford Public Library’s main branch is big, ugly and inefficient, and thanks to ComEd, it will be demolished.
Between 1886 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie donated more than $40 million for 1,679 new library buildings across the country, including the Rockford Public Library.
Rockford’s library was built in 1903 and featured majestic columns and a domed roof. That building was a magnificent structure but was replaced by the current three-story monstrosity in the 1960s.
There’s nothing special about the building, but it would probably be in use for decades more if ComEd hadn’t stepped in.
The land on which the library was built was once home to a manufactured-gas plant. ComEd acquired Rockford Gas, Light and Coke in 1966, and so is responsible for the company’s environmental footprint.
In 2010, ComEd tested soil samples and determined that underground vaults where Rockford Gas, Light and Coke had stored coal tar had eroded. Their contents are seeping into the ground beneath the library.
Thus began the long, tedious process of negotiating a deal that includes moving the library to a temporary site downtown, demolishing the library building, dealing with the pollution and erecting a building on the same site. ComEd will pay for that, but it’s not a blank check. Library officials still need to work within the constraints of what ComEd is willing to pay.
Your property tax dollars will not be used for the project. In fact, tax dollars may be saved because a new library will be smaller and more efficient and will not need as many employees to operate.
We respect Ald. Tim Durkee, R-1, who questioned the library’s plans in a guest column last week. Durkee has been a constructive force on the City Council, and we value the role he has played in advancing the public’s appreciation of the riverfront. Durkee instinctively grasps the fact that God just doesn’t make new riverfronts.
But we’re convinced that the library team has done its due diligence. Library officials have explored more than a dozen options for temporary and permanent library space. The plan that made the most sense was to rebuild on the current site. The final decision to rebuild at the current site wasn’t achieved by following the path of least resistance. It came through hard work.
Library officials envision a beautiful, architecturally significant public library on the west bank of the Rock River that would complement the commercial and residential development now taking place downtown, providing one more “third place,” to borrow from the sociologists — the sort of gathering space whose roots are as old as the republic and whose function is critical to the health of civil society.
More than just a gathering spot, library officials envision state-of-the-art technology for patrons to use whether they visit the library in person or on the internet. There are no final plans yet because negotiations with ComEd are continuing, and it will be years before contamination is removed and a library can be built. Library officials plan on a smaller, more efficient structure that will allow for green space along the river.
We look forward to the day when a beautiful new library graces the riverfront. Let’s build it where the old one stands. And let’s enjoy it for the next 100 years.
