The Oldest Homes on the Hill

years due to library renovations and the pandemic. Works will be on display until the end of July.

“I think the exhibition matters now more than ever because we experienced such a fracturing during the pandemic,” Bradshaw said. “There are harsher lines of division between people of different economic statuses, ethnicities, and abilities. The art show is open to all, and the library is an ADA-accessible building. Anyone of any age or income can come and have their art displayed. Libraries are the great American unifier. They are a public ‘third space’ that doesn’t require buying anything.”

Community spirit sparked the initial art exhibition. The library was under threat of closure in 1955. Librarian Phylis Taylor, along with internationally recognized American Realist painter Charles Griffin Farr, rallied local artists to hold a fundraiser to save it.

Dubbed “The Art Show” until 1993, early participating artists included Henri Marie-Rose, John Connolly, Susie