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This building was constructed in 1950-51 as the home of the Avon Township Public Library, which at the time served the village of Rochester and the surrounding Township of Avon (now Rochester Hills). The building was funded through a bequest by the late Eva Woodward Parker, that last surviving child of Rochester pioneer Lysander Woodward, and was thus named the Woodward Memorial building. The library board commissioned the building to be constructed on the site of the former Charles K. Griggs house, which had been the library's home since 1928. Renowned Michigan architect William Edward Kapp, who had also designed nearby Meadow Brook Hall, was selected to design the structure. It served as the library's home, with two later additions, until 1992.

Woodward Memorial / Avon Township Public Library, south elevation, 2020

House, Home, Property, Building

Woodward Memorial Library dedication plaque, south elevation, 2020

Commemorative plaque, Brick, Text, Brickwork

Woodward Memorial / Avon Township Public Library, south elevation

Woodward Memorial / Avon Township Public Library, south elevation

The Avon Township Public Library, which served residents of Avon Township (now Rochester Hills) and the village of Rochester, moved into the former residence of Charles K. Griggs, located on this site, in November 1928. In 1933, the library board was notified that Eva Woodward Parker had left a significant bequest in her will to fund the construction of a brand new library building. Parker was the last surviving daughter of Rochester pioneer Lysander Woodward, and had long been a supporter of the library. After her estate was settled in 1947, the library board had access to the funds to construct the new building.

The terms of Parker's will specified that the new library be built on the Griggs property, and that it be named the Woodward Memorial Library building. The library board had the old Griggs house razed in 1949, and construction of the new library building began in 1950. The building was designed by William Edward Kapp, who had also been the architect of Matilda Dodge Wilson's Meadow Brook Hall. Kapp also had experience in designing a number of branches of the Detroit Public Library system. For this building, he incorporated some design elements that were evocative of the Colonial-style architecture familiar to the New England settlers of the Rochester area.

The new Woodward Memorial building was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1951. It was soon inadequate to meet the needs of the growing community and was expanded in 1962 with funds provided from the estate of May and Grace Currey. A much larger, 20,000-square-foot addition was made to the east side of the building in 1975-76. The library's name was changed in 1984 to Rochester Hills Public Library after Avon Township voted to become a city. The building served as the library's home until 1992, when a new library facility was opened on Olde Towne Road. The Woodward Memorial Building was sold to Mary Lujan, who opened her interior decorating and home furnishings businesses in the former library. The building has since housed a variety of businesses and professional offices.

An unusual feature of the property is the Camperdown elm tree at the front of the building. Two Camperdown elms are visible in early-twentieth-century photos of the Griggs house; these trees were retained when the Woodward Memorial building was constructed. One of the trees eventually died, but the other has survived into 2020. The elms are an ornamental hybrid propagated through a grafting process, rather than grown from seed; they are so named because the first example was grown by the gardener working for Scotland's Earl of Camperdown. The Camperdown elm was adopted for the logo of the Rochester Hills Public Library, and a new Camperdown elm was planted in front of the Olde Towne library building after it opened in 1992.

“Parker Will Provides for Library Building,” Rochester Era, 23 February 1933, p.1.

“Memorial Day Program Will Start with Library Dedication Wednesday,” Rochester Clarion, 24 May 1951, p.1.

"Architect of City Landmarks Dies [obituary of William E. Kapp]," Detroit Free Press, February 8, 1969, p.5B.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Deborah Larsen

Deborah Larsen

Deborah Larsen
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