Pawtucket Library Undergoes Repairs and Improvements
If you have passed by the Pawtucket Library recently, you may have noticed the staging going up on the front of the Sayles building.
The Sayles building is the original library building which was built in 1902. In the last few years, the building has suffered from water intrusion that has damaged the beautiful interior of the building.
The Library received grants from the Champlin Foundation and the Simon W. Wardwell Foundation to repoint the East and West wings of the Sayles building. In addition to the repointing project, the Sayles building roof is also under repair including its gutters and skylights.
Water from the roof drains has damaged the decorative plaster work on the library’s main floor Roof repairs are necessary to prevent future water infiltration.
The funding for this work comes from a State Preservation Grant administered by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Block Grant Program (CDBG) obtained from the City of Pawtucket’s Department of Planning and Redevelopment and the City of Pawtucket’s Public Building Bond.
The Sayles building is not the only part of the library to receive some much-needed attention.
Starting this past summer, the Burns building of the library, a former Post Office built in 1897, began undergoing a fire sprinkler installation. Ceilings were removed to install the water pipes, but recently many of the ceilings have already been replaced. The project is expected to be completed early in 2024. Funding for the sprinkler project is from the City of Pawtucket’s Public Building Bond.The library has remained open during all of these construction projects. Both library buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.