Helen Day Memorial Library and Art Center
Helen Day Memorial Library and Art Center is a historic building in Stowe, Vermont, United States. The building, which was built in 1863 as Stowe Village School,[1] is currently occupied by The Current, a non-profit contemporary arts and education organization, and the Stowe Free Library.
 The Helen Day Memorial Library and Art Center, home of the Current and the Stowe Free Library in 2022 | |
| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | 90 Pond Street Stowe, Vermont, United States |
| Type | Art Center and Public Library |
| Director | Rachel Moore, The Current and Loren Polk, The Stowe Free Library |
| Website | https://www.thecurrentnow.org/ and https://www.stowelibrary.org/about.html |
The classic Greek Revival building, eventually used exclusively for upper grades, was abandoned in 1974 when a new high school was constructed at a location away from the center of town. Thanks to a bequest from Helen Day Montanari and the diligent work of local preservationists, the building, once known as “Old Yeller,” was restored in 1981 to house the Stowe Free Library and the Helen Day Art Center (now The Current). A major addition to the building was completed in 1994 through local support and a modest interior renovation was made to the library in 2002 through a grant from the Freeman Foundation of Stowe.
Established in 1981, The Current hosts exhibitions of visual art by internationally and nationally recognized artists and local Vermont artists. "Exposed" is The Current's annual outdoor sculpture exhibit.[2][3][4] The Current also offers art classes in a variety of media for youth and adults, as well as guided tours of exhibits, extensive public programs and a free hands-on room and Art Lounge.[5]
The earliest libraries in Stowe were subscription or membership libraries as was popular in the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1866, the Stowe Free Library was founded with a donation of 51 books from a group of visiting summer artists and supplemented by a town appropriation of $100. Stowe was the first town in Vermont to appropriate a sum of money for library purposes under the state of law of 1865.
After occupying several locations in the village, the library finally found a real home in the “new” town hall, the Akeley Memorial Building, in 1904. 77 years later, the library moved to the renovated old High School building at the corner of Pond and School Street.
The library is operated as a municipal department of the Town of Stowe and, as such, is about 90 percent tax-supported with the remaining income from endowment interest, fees, fines, gifts, and the proceeds from an annual book sale.[6]
History
The building was founded via a bequest left by Helen Day Montanari and Marguerite E. Lichtenthaeler.[7] Dr. Lichtenthaeler, who was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, received a medical degree from Boston University in 1916 and practiced medicine for the next twenty-five years. In 1940, she moved to Stowe, Vermont, with Helen Day Montanari. She established her own practice in town and continued to see patients until she was eighty years old.
Helen Day Montanari was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied the Italian language for a year at Radcliffe College. She later married General Carlo Montanari, who was killed in World War I. After the war was over, she brought her three children to the United States and settled in Newton, Massachusetts. A few years later, she came down with an illness and was diagnosed by Dr. Lichtenthaeler. The two women became lifelong friends and eventually decided to share a house in Stowe.
The two women shared intellectual interests, loved to travel, and shared a concern for the quality of life in their town. Dr. Lichtenthaeler was always counted on to rise during town meetings to plead for a library appropriation. Mrs. Montanari, who felt just as strongly, left a $40,000 trust, after her death in 1955,[7] for the establishment of an art center and a library. Years later, there was a successful campaign to raise the remainder of the money that was needed for the Stowe Free Library and the Helen Day Art Center.[8]
Timeline
- 1863: The Greek Revival village school was built and counterpoint to the Stowe Community Church. They shared the same architect
- 1900: Second-story wings added
- 1955: Helen Day Montanari (a long-time visitor and eventual resident of Stowe) died and left a trust fund in the care of her friend, Dr. Marguerite Lichtenthaeler. The two women shared a dream of a new library and art center for Stowe
- 1974: Stowe High School moved into its new quarters on the Barrows Road. The village school, colloquially known as "Old Yeller", was left vacant
- 1980: After dedication and foresight by Historic Stowe and the Trustees of the Helen Day Montanari Fund, restoration of the vacant school begun. It was to be reincarnated as the Helen Day Memorial Library and Art Center and officially registered on the National Register of Historic Sites
- 1981: The Stowe Free Library officially moved into the first floor of the new building
- 1982: The Helen Day Art Center was officially incorporated and registered with the Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation
- 1994: New additions made
- 2021: The Current: A Center for Contemporary Art moved into the second floor of the building
References
- Stowe 2020: A Vision for Stowe Village - Town of Stowe, Vermont
- "Exposed Home Page". Exposed. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- "Exposed: Outdoor Sculpture at Helen Day Art Center". Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- "Art Review: 'Exposed,' Helen Day Art Center". Seven Days. August 6, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- "Helen Day Art Center Field Trip". Waitsfield Elementary School. December 3, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- "Stowe Free Library History". Town of Stowe. Town of Stowe. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- Writer, Andrew Martin | Staff. "Was Helen Day Montanari a sign of her time, or something more?". Vermont Community Newspaper Group. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- Cynthia Close. "How Stowe's Women Saved The Helen Day Art Center". Vermont Woman. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
