The Memorial Office and Lounge: Helen Spencer’s Favorite Library Spaces
The furnishings and other pieces in the lounge, memorial office, and North Gallery were selected and purchased or donated by Helen Spencer and the Kenneth A. and Helen F. Spencer Foundation.
Photographs and documents capture Mrs. Spencer’s hands-on involvement in designing and moving into these spaces. They also show the efforts of the team of at least six other people who worked with her, unloading items from trucks parked on Poplar Lane, carrying pieces into the library, arranging furniture in public areas, and hanging artwork, mirrors, and clocks.
We invite you to read more about the office (through this door to the left) and lounge (across the reception area to the right), two of Helen’s favorite areas in the library, in the spaces themselves.
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Two workers carrying a bench to the North Gallery, with Helen’s direction, fall 1968
Formerly the Special Collections reception area, the room shown is now Spencer’s Exhibit Space. The wall in front of you is the wall behind Helen in the photo.
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Helen Spencer assisting an unidentified woman in polishing Kenneth’s desk in the memorial office, fall 1968
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Helen Spencer posing in the North Gallery, 1968-1969
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Helen Spencer in the memorial lounge, 1968-1969
The pieces in this photo can still be seen in the lounge and other library spaces.