Tiffany Reading Room Renovation Reveals Hidden Gem in Irvington

Locals' first steps into the Tiffany Reading Room in Irvington Town Hall may not sweep them off their feet. It’s a modest room with desks and a handful of bookshelves.

But nestled into the quiet space are detail and beauty. Handcrafted turtle-shell lanterns line the walls, well-worn books look as though they’ve seen thousands of fingers flipping through them and a honeycomb of small tiles make up the ocean of blue mosaics on the walls.

Even spotting the words of great authors inscribed into the ceiling beams, one may never guess the Tiffany Reading Room’s long and elegant history that spans over a century, according to library officials.

The story of the room dates back to the Reconstruction era in American history. In 1869, the Mental and Moral Improvement Society—a temperance group—built a structure called the Athenaeum, in which there was a circulating library.

In the late 19th century, the Village of Irvington grew tremendously and a working town hall became a necessity. Thus, the village convinced the society to sell them the property in 1892, officials recall. The society had one condition though: the town hall must always maintain a library and a reading room. 

Ten years later, after the turn of the century in 1902, town hall was open and housed a full library for the village to enjoy. The room now known as the Tiffany Reading Room served as a reference room for the library. Helen Gould, daughter of famed robber baron Jay Gould, donated $10,000 towards the interior furnishings of the room. Thus, due to her contributing, Louis Comfort Tiffany was able to provide the Tiffany glasswork and furnishings, officials say.

As the century progressed, the library was in greater and greater need of more space to house its growing collection of books. Due to this need, the library was relocated to its new and current location in January of 2000. However, the reading room remains in town hall because of the property’s deed.

Even before the relocation of the public library, village members were in talks of restoring the then 98-year-old reading room. According to Pamela Strachan, director of the Irvington Public Library, talks of refurbishment began as early as 1999. 

“It was in really bad shape,” said librarian Pamela Bernstein of the pre-restored library said. “There was a lot of damage.” 

Christopher Mitchell was on the library board and decided to join the restoration committee eight months after it began in 2004. By the end of the process, he and Deborah Flock had become co-chairs. He credits the room’s artistic and cultural significance as the main reason for its renewal. 

“In a community that cares a lot about its history, its important to preserve something this unique,” Mitchell added.

Mitchell says there were a great number of obstacles that the committee had to surpass in the beginning stages of repair. 

“The job of coordinating all the skills and trades that we needed to restore the room to the international standard of historical preservation—as well as raising all of the money—took time,” he said.

A little more than a quarter of the money needed to complete the task, close to $200,000, came from the village. The rest came from private donations.

The crew of carefully picked artisans and skilled workers worked tirelessly on the room. The laboring included restoring the plaster, repainting, cleaning the lamps, re-wiring the whole room, implementing modern data connections and a sprinkler system, the furniture was refinished, and supplemental lighting had been installed. When it was all said and done, those who worked on it were stunned.

“Even [the committee and workers] were surprised at the complexity and depth of the artistic vision that Tiffany had in designing this space,” Mitchell said. 

The people of Irvington were also overjoyed with the finished project.

“When you go there now, you get a pretty clear vision of what it must have looked like in 1902,” Strachan said. “I think the restoration made us realize what a special place it really was.” 

Today, the Tiffany Reading Room is one of only four surviving secular interiors designed by Louis C. Tiffany in the Northeast. Irvington is unique in that it is the only one that is open to the public free of charge.

In the community, it serves multiple purposes. The library’s book club holds its meetings there, and its used for a meeting space for the village and various committees. Perhaps its most frequent use though is what it was designed for back in 1902, reading. 

“Its just wonderful to have a place in the community that’s not only historic and so lovely, but also just to have a quiet space where you can sit and read or meditate and just enjoy it,” Strachan said.