Sundown library reopens in renovated church
SUNDOWN — A new chapter has begun for a storied community building once dedicated to worship but in need of a new purpose.
The City of Sundown cut the ribbon on its new public library this month after hundreds of thousands of grant dollars funded the renovation of an old, vacant church into a new, vibrant community space.
Community members, schoolchildren and local officials gathered Thursday, Jan. 18 for the ribbon-cutting and refreshments, celebrating the end of a year of construction and the start of a new era for the Sundown library.
"With the theme of “Building Better Together,” we have had numerous organizations and individuals assist the City of Sundown in a transformation of our library," Mayor Pro Tem Lonnie Geisler said in his remarks at the event. "Library Director A’ndrea McAdams petitioned numerous foundations locally and throughout the state to qualify for funds, with a total of nine grants awarding a total exceeding $750,000 from 2022 to 2023."
The library's renovation was entirely grant-funded, Geisler said. Construction began in January 2023 and was recently completed.
The repurposed church was originally built in the 1950s, and the renovations preserved original hardwood and historic lighting fixtures. In addition to the stacks, the new library features a computer and printer, new furniture and a play area for kids.
The plan to turn what was originally a Methodist church and later a Catholic parish into a library started with a vision. Just a few years ago, Librarian A'ndrea McAdams, with help from retired librarians Carolyn Mason and the late Linda Canon, decided the empty church, then owned by Sundown ISD, would make a perfect place to move their stacks and replace the cramped quarters the library previously occupied.
"The old building is super small, so we couldn't really do any summer reading or programs, so I had asked the school if we could borrow the facility at the time," McAdams said. "We kind of rented it for a couple of years, and I started thinking that it would really make a great library, because the school wasn't going to use it anymore and it was just sitting vacant."
McAdams started to do some research on "creative repurposing" and petitioned the various powers that be to support the project. She applied for numerous grants to raise the three-quarters of a million dollars in capital to abate asbestos and transform the space into a library.
Now that the project is complete, McAdams hopes to expand the library's programming, adding activities like story time, a summer reading program and other family-friendly events.
McAdams said having a communal space like a library is crucial to a community, especially in a rural town like Sundown. McAdams, who is originally from San Angelo, said the library helped her find her place when she first moved to a small town.
"It's a culture shock, and I needed something that would be my lifeline. And that was the library," McAdams said. "It really gave me a place to meet people and to escape. I couldn't have survived rural Texas without it."
The City of Sundown Library is located at 201 E. Fifth St. and is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Foundations which provided grant funding for the project include:
The National Historic Preservation Trust Forum
The American Library Association
The Parkhill Building Community Fund
The M.S. Doss Foundation
The Prentice & Alline Brown Foundation
The CH Foundation
The Tocker Foundation
The FMH Foundation
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Sundown library reopens in renovated West Texas church
