Eastwood Branch Library

History

In 1974 the Eastwood Community Club donated its former community center on Gayle Avenue, known as John Strand Hall, to the library for a new branch. Since remodeling would have been more expensive than building a new branch, Strand Hall was demolished, and a modest new building was built on that site. The branch had moved from the city's Eastside to Kalamazoo Township's Eastwood neighborhood, so it became known as the Eastwood Branch at that time. Service began there on 10 July 1975. The Community Club marked its 60th anniversary in 1981 by purchasing additional lots adjacent to the building to provide for parking and future expansion for the branch. Fifteen years later, when that building, too, had proven inadequate for the needs of the community, their foresight came to fruition. A millage was passed to refurbish or rebuild all five of the library's facilities.

Another new building was constructed on the Gayle Avenue site, designed by David Milling and Associates of Ann Arbor and built by A. J. Etkin Construction Company. The grand re-opening was held in August of 1996. Residential in scale and detailing, the new branch represents the idealized model of a small neighborhood library. The staff manages services easily in its classic L-shape. The bottom of the L features the children's area and enclosed story room; the stem holds the adult and audiovisual collections. A vestibule elevator and stairwell lead to a community meeting room on the lower level.