In this photo, taken just after the 1984 Summer Olympics, Joan Benoit Samuelson’s marathon gold medal victory is being celebrated on Congress Street.
August 5th marked the opening of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
Maine has a fairly long line of Olympic competitors and Olympic champions, however many of us who live here don’t often think of Mainers as Summer competitors. One of the earliest Maine Olympians of note was Robert Legendre. Born in 1898 in Lewiston, Legendre competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games and the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. His sport was track and field competing in the pentathlon and long jump, winning a Bronze medal in Paris.
Robert LeGendre in 1919. Image is in the Public Domain.
The 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles was a great year for Maine champions. Bill Swift of Portland played for the US baseball team who won Silver that year. Bill went on to have a storied career in baseball playing for the Seattle Mariners, the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies as pitcher. Joan Benoit Samuelson of Cape Elizabeth won Gold in the Women’s Marathon that year. She went on to write two books on running, Running Tide and Joan Samuelson’s Running for Women, both of which are in Portland Public Library’s collection. Joan is also the founder of the Beach to Beacon, an elite 10 kilometer road race which starts at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Headlight in Fort Williams Park.
That same year, Jeff Turner of Bangor competed that year with the US Basketball team, bringing home Gold for the country. Turner was a power forward and center, playing professionally for the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic after the Games completed.
More recently, Mainers have been competing in the Summer Games in more aquatic competitions. In Crocker of Portland started his championship career at the 2000 Summer games in Sydney, winning Gold with his teammates in the 400 meter medley. Crocker competed in the 2004 Athens games winning a Bronze medal in the 400 meter freestyle relay, a Silver in the 100 meter butterfly and another Gold as part the 400 meter medley relay team, which broke world records that Summer. Crocker returned to the Olympic pools in 2008 and won Gold again with the 400 meter medley relay.
Anna Goodale of Camden competed in the 2008 Games with the US Women’s Rowing team. She sat alongside Elle Logan of Portland winning the Gold in the women’s 8. Logan returned to Olympic waters in the 2012 London Games, winning Gold again sans Goodale. Elle Logan is looking for Gold again in this year’s Games.
For more information on this Summer’s schedule and when to watch for Logan, click here.
As part of the planned renovation of the facility that houses both our Peaks Island branch and the attached community room, we at Portland Public Library (PPL) were delighted to work with the Peaks Environmental Action Team (PEAT) and Holbrook Engineering to develop an Energy Model for the building.
Holbrook Engineering developed an energy model which can now be used to inform the final selection of building envelope choices (walls, windows, floors, ceilings, insulation) as well as choices of mechanical equipment (heating, cooling, ventilation), and lighting choices.
Peaks Island-based artist Marty Braun worked with the Library to develop a poster illustrating the decision factors that were brought forward in the energy model. The poster is now hanging in the lobby of the Peaks Island community center and appears below. A larger copy of the poster can be downloaded here.
As part of the PPL/PEAT collaboration, an energy monitor has been purchased that shows show real-time electrical use of the facility. Installation of this monitor is nearly complete in a temporary location, pending re-installation in a permanent location after renovations are complete. There will ultimately be a small display that will illustrate the components of the building envelope, and we look forward to working with PEAT to develop educational programming related to this Energy Model and the energy efficiencies that become part of the renovation.
As we enter the phase of the project where we can begin to formalize renovation plans and make choices around energy use improvements, the Library/City Planning Committee looks forward to using this data to make the informed decisions for the renovation.
We know many PPL patrons are eager for our Burbank Branch to reopen – we are, too! We will set the reopening date very soon, and we look forward to announcing it as soon as possible. We can’t wait to celebrate with you once we are back in the building.
Below are responses to the most frequent questions we are hearing about the current status of the renovation project. If you have feedback or other questions we can answer, please call PPL’s Administration Offices at 207-871-1700 ext. 756.
I see lots of activity at the Burbank Branch site. How is it going?
We have encountered only minimal construction delays, so we have been able to stay on schedule pretty well. As you can see from these photos, the new elevator is installed, the public computing area is coming together, and the new space is open and inviting. We will begin moving our collections and furnishings in shortly.
How is the project funding progressing?
As we have shared previously, this is a $410,000 renovation. As is the case with every PPL capital project and our annual operational budget, the City of Portland supports PPL’s infrastructure needs. In this case, the City provided $300,000 to the project address the structural and ergonomic issues at the building.
However, we rely on the generosity of private donors for everything that enhances the Burbank library experience – from our ongoing programs, to the ways we build our collections, and the project-specific items like fresh, flexible seating in the children’s and adults areas. To date, we have received gifts from nearly 300 households toward the Burbank Branch renovation campaign and are now less than $40,000 away from our $410,000 goal.
Does this mean the project began before the funding was secure?
Not at all.
The City’s allocation meant we had the funds in hand to address long-standing, challenging structural and ergonomic issues at the branch. However, just as in a home renovation, this was an opportunity to identify other improvements that would enhance the branch and minimize future disruption:
- new, lower-profile shelving to highlight the collection while making the space more flexible and open
- new windows and air handling units to heighten energy efficiency
- up-to-date public computing resources
- more and better seating options for our patrons
How does the fundraising campaign affect the reopening of the branch?
Our hope is that gifts to the campaign will continue to keep pace with our renovation timeline and that we can reopen having accomplished all improvements rather than deferring any enhancements if we do not meet our goal. Please consider joining your neighbors in this effort, if you have not done so already, and make a secure gift online to the Burbank Branch renovation campaign. We are so grateful for the support of the community!
