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Brutalist library by Walter Netsch, and other buildings, are under threat in Aurora, New York, after Wells Colleges recent closure
In Aurora, New York, a handful of important 19th and 20th century buildings on the former campus of Wells College are in jeopardy, the Preservation Association of Central New York (PACNY) told AN.One of the buildings under threat is Louis Jefferson Long Library, a Brutalist structure completed in 1968 by Walter Netsch. PACNY also noted two other midcentury structuresCampbell Art Building (1974) and Barler Music Building (1974)could also be damaged in the coming months. After the 156-year-old schools closure last summer, and a local zoning override that changed the campus grounds from institutional to mixed-use, the three buildings may be subjected to significant changes, PACNY said.According to Wells Legacy Society, a local preservation group, water and heat will be shut off at former Wells College buildings this winter, which could have catastrophic consequences for these irreplaceable historic structures and their contents, which are integral to our regions cultural heritage in central New York.Interior view of Long Library at Wells College (CP Thornton/Flickr/CC BY 2.0)Wells College has a dozen buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes a Tuscan villa from 1852, an 1858 Gothic revival house, and a 4-story brick building from 1890, and others. While the historic core of Wells Colleges campus is protected, its modern buildings are not because of their completion dates.Walter Netsch was the legendary architect in Chicagos SOM office behind the U.S. Air Force Academys Cadet Chapel, and Regenstein Library at UC. He practiced for decades alongside Gordon Bunshaft, as well as his in-house adversary Bruce Graham, as Blair Kamin put it. Wells Legacy Society emphasized that, without energy at Netschs building, the potential for mold and mildew will rise dramatically and ruin the colleges extensive unprotected holdings of books, archives, artifacts, and artworks. Damage could be sustained to walls and woodwork, and pipes could crack, eliciting water leaks.Wells Legacy Society has called the choices by Wells College trustees to turn off water and power irresponsible and reckless. The group has since written a letter to elected officials, requesting them to step up and help save the buildings.PACNY also sharedthat its members are working with Landmarks Society of Western New York, the Preservation League of NYS, Historic Ithaca, and Wells Legacy Society to preserve the campus.
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