The Cornwall Local, Friday, August 24, 1934:

Village Signs Agreement And Work Is To Start Immediately; Tenants To Vacate At Once

With the public library in a new home, the fire siren removed from its lofty perch, water and power shut off, and now empty except for the two tenants who will vacate the premises within the next few days, Matthiessen Hall, once glorious as the civic center of the Village and Town, awaits the doom which was settled upon it this week when satisfactory agreements in regard to the building were legalized.

The removal of this landmark to make way for an attractive theatre with modern stores was assured when on Tuesday evening the signatures of Mr. C. H. Matthiessen and the Mayor and members of the building committee of the Village of Cornwall were attached to documents which will convey the Hall property to Mr. Matthiessen, donor of the new public library. This action proved the trigger for releasing immediate action in projects which have been followed and approved by the residents of the entire area.

As announced in last week’s issue of The Local, a check to the amount of $25,000 was given to the Cornwall-on-Hudson Public Library Board subject to release upon the signing of the agreement between Mr. Matthiessen and the Village. Under the terms of this agreement also, Mr. Matthiessen has paid to the Treasurer of the Village one-half the amount for removing the Hall and the remainder will be paid when the building has been demolished to the sidewalk level and the deed for the property turned over to him. The Village has agreed to remove the building for the sum of $2,950, a figure submitted by A. E. Lucas of Newburgh and to whom the contract for the wrecking operations will go.

In the rear of the Corporation Office a ten foot strip has been reserved for the purpose of installing a heating plant for that building. The Village headquarters was formerly heated from the same plant that supplied the heat to the library building. A right of way from Churchill Street was granted to the Village, but the main entrance to their property will be through a passage that will be created by removing one of the windows and a section of the wall in the Mayor’s Office. A new oil heating system will be installed and the tanks for this, one of the concessions in the agreement, will be located on the theatre property.

The announcement of the final action moved the library board to make immediate plans for transfer of the library. The library was ordered closed as of Tuesday evening and the packing of books started on Wednesday. With volunteer help, and under the direction of Miss Florence Lancaster, librarian, the first section, consisting of non-fiction books, were moved Thursday afternoon, and the completion of the book moving was done this morning. Irving E. Ames removed the shelves and racks on Thursday and installed them in Odd Fellows’ Hall, where the library will be housed until the new building is ready. The quarters allotted the library by the Odd Fellows is directly opposite the Post Office and in the room formerly occupied by the Art Class.

Daniel Donahue, electrical contractor, removed the fire siren on Thursday morning and installed it on top of the bell tower alongside of the firehouse of Storm King Engine Co., who answer its calls. Special irons were made for attaching the whistle and the entire apparatus will be operated from the firehouse. The accessories for the whistle were formerly located in the cellar of the library building.

A. A. Lawrence, drug store owner, and Mead & Taft Company still have their stores in the building, but they will probably vacate as soon as quarters have been arranged for them. Since the upper two stories of the Hall are now cleared, the wreckers will probably enter the building the early part of next week. Such work as removing the sash, ceilings and paneling will not interfere with the ground floor.

The Rose property adjoining the Hall property to the west was also acquired by Mr. Matthiessen and this provides the entire block for building purposes. This was needed in order to provide sufficient depth for the auditorium of the theatre. Four stores will be provided in the length of the block, all entrances being on Idlewild Avenue.

Specifications for the new library were completed this week and these were given out to the contractors on Thursday. It is expected that a ten-day period will be required for the contractors to prepare their estimates, and shortly after this the actual work of construction will begin.

Ground plans for the theatre building have been received from the architect and the remaining details are now being worked out in order that this contract will be ready about the time that the library building has been completely removed.