Historic Palm Springs Library Slated For Renovation
The Palm Springs City Council voted 3-2 tonight to reject an appeal of the Historic Site Preservation Board’s rejection of the proposed renovation and expansion of Welwood Murray Memorial Library.
Councilman Chris Mills immediately appealed the board’s October decision, but was only able to persuade one colleague, Councilman Lee Weigel, to join him in voting to overturn the rejection.
Each of the five city council members will provide input to the planning director regarding redesign the plans. City staff will work with the architect to come up with an alternative approach that will satisfy the building’s historical significance, according to Amy Blaisdell, the city’s director of communications.
The proposed renovations included the demolition of the Billie Lu Floan Room to make way for a 1,589-square-foot extension that would downsize the site’s existing courtyard, and the addition of restrooms and a community room.
The Historic Site Board would prefer the building be used as a “research library/museum facility,” according to the staff report.
The 4,030-square-foot library is named after Palm Springs pioneer George Welwood Murray and was designed by the city’s first resident architect, John Porter Clark. It was designated a historic site by the city in 1984.
