Lititz Public Library
Lititz, PA
The vision for the borough’s new community library was that the design should embody the “essence” of the proud historical town of Lititz.
To articulate this, the buildings of the beautiful Moravian Square, and its immediate neighborhood that reach back eloquently to the community’s beginnings, were referenced. The wall surfaces, roof forms, trellis structures, stone walls, gardens and window configurations found in these structures provided a vocabulary for the new library.
Combined in unique ways, these design elements relate to an earlier Lititz, but do so in the context of a new building (15,000 sf) configured to meet current needs. The familiar design references combine to produce a gentle, warmly welcoming building that celebrates the community’s past and its future.
Below is a portion of the May 23, 2024 Lititz Record Express Article, “Lititz Library relocation celebration 25 years ago attracted more than 800 people” by Laura Knowles.
Hammond, Richmond and project manager Ned Pelger met with architect Bob Hoffman of Beers and Hoffman (Beers and Schillaci at the time) at the then-Sutter Inn to convey their vision for the new library.
“We told Bob we wanted a design that would reflect the character of Lititz. Not a modern, box-like library that didn’t look and feel like Lititz,” recalls Richmond.
Hoffman decided to check out the character of Lititz by exploring the historic Lititz Moravian Church, the Johannes Mueller House and the Lititz Museum just down the street. He was intrigued by the Corpse House at the Moravian Church with its stonework and white-trimmed circular windows. Then he walked across the street and took note of the white arches and trellis that led to the garden at the museum.
“I wanted to see what the color of the church looked like in the rain,” recalls Hoffman, of the soft cream of the church that became a warmer shade of ochre when wet. That’s what he would use for the library. Design aspects from the Corpse House and the garden trellis were incorporated into Hoffman’s design.
As Richmond notes, “When we saw Bob’s design, we were floored. It was exactly what the Lititz Public Library should look like.”
Pelger had wanted a library that seemed like a big welcoming home for books, saying, “It was absolutely perfect. It would be a library we could all be proud of. The library still stands the test of time. It is just beautiful through all the seasons.”
