One for the books

City Hospital demolition kicks off new era

Thank goodness Fayetteville’s old City Hospital wasn’t pretty. City residents and supporters of the public library gathered recently to mark a big day in the history of Fayetteville. It was a big day for at least two reasons: demolition of a building that was formerly City Hospital and the significance of that act to the future of the Fayetteville Public Library.

For 100 years, City Hospital operated at that location, donated not long into the first decade of the 20th century local residents and philanthropists by Stephen K. and Amanda Stone. Local historian Jerry Hogan recalls the magnificence of the original white-columned hospital facility operated there for about half a century. If that building existed today in any salvageable condition, the idea of tearing it down would no doubt cause serious heartburn.

But the people of another era made that decision. What’s being cleared away for the expansion of the library is an old structure, of course, but the cherished history of City Hospital isn’t wrapped up so much in its architectural splendor. Few would argue the building, which has stood vacant for years now, is a worthy nominee for preservation at the expense of the library’s expansion. People who worked or received treatment there remember what happened inside the rather nondescript walls — the human connections, the healing, the beginnings of life and the compassionate care given to those in their final days. Hospitals are places where families and neighbors go through great joy, struggle through challenging difficulties and say goodbye to those whose time has come. What happens within is what gives them their place in community history.

So yes, there was sadness, not so much as the loss of a building but for the passing of the institution.

The expansion Fayetteville voters supported with a millage increase in 2016 promises so much more for the community than the old City Hospital building offered in its aged form. Construction of a 70,000-square-foot addition will provide breathing room to the 2004 Blair Library building that proved so popular supporters feared the facility might be “loved to death” through heavy use, limited funding and exhausted capacity to make room for services in demand.

The expansion will double the size of youth services, add what’s been referred to as an innovation center and a 700-seat multipurpose space. Genealogy and local history sections will grow as will meeting, study and collaboration areas. The library will fulfill its growing role as a community center of sorts, a place at the heart of Fayetteville.

Medical care for the community happens in other parts of the city now. This expansion will be dedicated to knowledge, the care of the mind, expansion of perspective. And, yes, those human connections at the heart of care at City Hospital will continue in the decades ahead within the walls of the library.

Who knew in 2004 that the Fayetteville Public Library nearly 15 years later would need to double in size? It’s hard to imagine the library ever fit into the old Fulbright Building on East Dickson Street before 2004, isn’t it?

In saying goodbye to the past, Fayetteville is opening a door to a brighter future worth checking out.