Houghton Keeps Cool, But Widener Will Fan Lamont

Keyes D. Metcalf's three libraries are running hot and cold.

Houghton is already cool, Widener has no expectations, and Lamont is under construction. But to air-condition Lamont Library workmen are installing a water tower and several hundred feet of pipe in Widener.

With nearly all of the de-humidifying, cooling, and filtering machinery also slated to be installed in Widener, just about the only air conditioning equipment left in Lamont itself is the air.

When University officials discovered that the spring under Memorial Hall did not have enough water to cool both Houghton and Lamont libraries, they had to fall back on city water cooled with a tower.

Towers--horrors

Placing such a tower on Lamont's roof was viewed in the same light as using John Harvard's statue for a bicycle rack. Fortunately, however, architects noted in Widener's cavernous cellar and broad roof an admirable location for bulky air-conditioning machinery. They also pointed out that the great lengths of pipe needed for the Widener location of equipment is still far cheaper than adding 1000 square feet of space to Lamont's basement.

But thick-walled Widener can never be air-conditioned, Metcalf said.