Baker Library Bell Tower is being restored from June through October of this year, the first renovation since the bell was put in the tower in 1928. Structural issues with the bell prompting extensive preservation work. Improvements include replacing the Library’s copper roofing, expanded LED lighting to emphasize the architecture of the clock and tower, repairing the clock’s hands and numbers, creating a digital control system for the bells and the clock and the construction of a replica of the Tower’s weathervane and replacement of cork flooring in the Tower Room while also providing USB ports in all electrical outlets. While all the exterior entrances to the Library will remain open, visitors will be encouraged to not use the front entrance. The Tower Room is going to be closed June 20 through Sept 23.
The Hood Museum of Art is being renovated and expanded, with the construction beginning in this July and ending in February of 2018. The project will build additional gallery space and learning facilities, while allowing for increased access to the collection for students and faculty. Specific changes include building a front entrance and lobby that’s visible from the Green and Wheelock Street, adding restrooms and coat and bag storage, creating the Center for Object-Based Inquiry, which will improve the museums teaching capabilities and improving the HVAC systems that maintain environmental conditions for the collection. The museum will reopen in winter of 2019, when the collection is returned and the galleries are put in place. While the museum is closed, an exhibition gallery titled the Hood Downtown will be opened and operated on Main Street in Hanover, starting this September. Students and faculty will be able to use the online catalog for research, as it will be further developed while the main museum is closed. Forty-seven works from the collection will be on loan to 17 museums within the United States.
A student gathering space for members of the North Park and South House Communities titled House Center A is being constructed to the west of the Davis Varsity House. It is being built on the current two-court tennis court site. The site, a 4,750-square-foot one-level building, will feature a meeting room, three study pods and a large “flex space.” Outside there will be a small fire pit, a large deck and green space.The connection of a building sever line to the main line in Crosby Street will impact one line of traffic on Crosby Street. The regular work day hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
House Center B, a two-story 6,900-square-foot building, is located south of the Gile and Hitchcock residence halls will serve as a social space for School and Allen House community members. The first floor has a 36-by-48 flexible space and a convenience store, while the second floor has several smaller alcoves along with a large flexible space. The first floor is intented to be a hang-out space, but can support small formal events. The regular work day hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
