Library, Museum Face New Century

SHERIDAN SANSEGUNDO

Ever since the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton decided that it had outgrown its historic mock-Tudor building on the corner of Job's Lane and would have to move elsewhere, the neighboring Parrish Art Museum has coveted the space for expansion of its own.

Now a $1.1 million deal has been signed, sealed, and delivered, to a large degree thanks to the generosity of Donald P. Louchheim, the former publisher of another Southampton institution, The Southampton Press.

The library will receive $700,000 in cash. The remainder will be in the form of a $400,000 two-acre parcel of land on Windmill Lane contiguous to the site of the library's planned new building, which has been donated by Mr. Louchheim.

Capital Campaign

According to Trudy Kramer, the Parrish's director, the next step is a capital campaign.

"We've hired a capital campaign firm, and architectural planning is being done," she said on Friday. "A lot depends on how much money we can raise. We are planning on how to bring the museum into the next century."

The museum will first climatize its present building to protect its collection. Then Ms. Kramer said the board will explore options such as connecting the museum with the library building, and renovating it in other ways. They also hope that use of the library will mean enough space within the present building to keep the Parrish's permanent collection on view. Storage space is another problem; the museum long ago ran out of room for storing its holdings.

In addition, the library space will be used for student workshops, art seminars, a reading room, and administrative offices, which, she said, the museum urgently needs.

"A Hero"

"I'm very excited, and the board is excited," Ms. Kramer said. "The community has been very supportive all along - year-rounders, second-home owners, everyone. We all feel that it's important to anchor the center of the village this way, to preserve it as a cultural attraction. And with this addition to the museum, we hope to play an even larger role in the community."

Mr. Louchheim, Ms. Kramer said, "has been very concerned about preserving the center of the village for a long time. We've had many discussions about this. He's been so generous, and he's become a hero to many," she added.

Even though everyone liked the idea, the deal between the library and the museum was not assured. Its board rejected the Parrish's first offer and put the building on the market. However, interest in its commercial use fell off after the library board set up restrictions that forbade future owners from altering the library's facade.

Under the agreement the library will remain in place until its new building is finished in the year 2000. The library has a $500,000 mortgage on the property, which it will continue to pay until it moves out, in lieu of rent. The Parrish will pay off the mortgage when it takes over.

In the end, it was largely the contribution of the land that swung the deal.

"In particular," said Alexander T. Mason, chairman of the library's board, "the addition of the property on Windmill Lane next to the new library site invests the library with an invaluable ability to address its future needs, whatever they may be."