Many letters in favor of the old library roof repair present compelling arguments but are incomplete, as if the historical presence of the building itself were the main issue.
The trade-off is not merely between maintenance for a treasured building versus its vague potential financial “value” to the town. Since it became Fivesparks, the old library is more than an icon of Harvard’s cultural past. Now it has become an active cultural asset that offers music festivals and musical events, crafts programming for children and adults, art exhibits and classes, the Garden Club’s Bloom ’N Art, Zoom training, and much more. Check out the website! And all this was accomplished during the social restrictions of the pandemic. In fact, Fivesparks stepped up to the challenge of the past 18 months with Zoom, video, and streaming resources that demonstrated its flexibility and vision.
Fivesparks is more than the old library building now; both the treasure of the building itself and the cultural center it provides are essential to helping Harvard bridge the past and future.
Kathy Hewett
Elm Street
