The Second Floor: A New Public Space
The Richard E. Riegel, Jr. Maritime Library
Housed in the Tower Room, the Richard E. Riegel, Jr. Maritime Library holds more than 500 maritime and nautical books and magazines, primarily from the library of the late Jerry Riegel, but supplemented by donations from the Burton G. Tremaine, Jr. family, Sandy Riegel, Tim Patterson, John Spofford, and others. Jerry’s widow Barbie, and her family, thoughtfully donated Jerry’s library in his memory.
General Reference Library
The adjacent General Reference Library in the main room holds an additional 500 books that relate to the history, natural history and archaeology of our region. This collection includes many titles from the former libraries of H.L. Ferguson, Lee Ferguson, and Ed Horning, as well as books donated by individuals, and those purchased for the Museum in 2003 with a generous grant from Dan Gordon’s Drumcliff Foundation. There are also separate, smaller collections, including books directly relating to Fishers Island, children’s books, Fishers Island authors, and Fishers Island School yearbooks. Each collection is organized by Library of Congress call numbers and is color coded on the spine labels to make refiling easier.
Please note that books from these libraries are for browsing and reference use on the Second Floor only and cannot be taken out.
Art racks for storage of signs and paintings and flat files for maps and prints are located in locked storage areas at the sides of the Second Floor galleries. There is a lift-style elevator for handicap access, and a new fire escape for emergency egress located on the west side of the Museum. There is also a storage room to keep stackable chairs out of the way when they are not in use on the main gallery floor during lectures.
The Second Floor Renovation Project and the new Maritime Library were made possible by generous donations from many individuals and foundations. The primary architect was Jacob Albert of Albert, Righter & Tittmann Architects, Inc., Boston, Mass. The general contractor was Z & S Contracting, Inc. We thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this wonderful new public space.
