Covenant News

Demolition of Old North Park Library Under Way

CHICAGO, IL (January 16, 2002) - Demolition of the Wallgren Library building at North Park University (NPU) is under way, with completion expected by the end of February, according to Carl Balsam, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The first step in the demolition process was asbestos removal, which began last month, said Balsam. Interior demolition started just recently. The land under the soon-to-be-demolished building will become open green space to enhance the west end of the campus. Another academic building may be constructed at some time in the future on the north portion of the cleared site, Balsam noted.

Wallgren Library, named for then-North Park College Dean Samuel Wallgren, was built in 1958 at a cost of about $700,000. It was designed to house about 70,000 books. North Park undergraduates and North Park Theological Seminary students used the Wallgren Library until last summer.

The new $18 million Brandel Library and Learning Center was dedicated in early October during North Park's Homecoming weekend. The Brandel Library includes a book capacity of approximately 300,000 volumes, along with enough storage to house Evangelical Covenant Church archives and information from the Swedish American Historical Society.

Balsam said that demolition workers discovered a copper box that was placed in the library during the Wallgren Library dedication service held on September 21, 1958. It includes a copy of the bible, a 1958 edition of the Covenant Yearbook, the program from the library dedication and other items. It was found behind a marble faceplate in the front of the library, said Balsam. A North Park College News article dated October 1, 1958, stated that Clifford G. Erickson, chairman of North Park's Board of Directors, had placed the box in the time capsule.

For more information about the demolition process, call Debbie Larsen at 244-5750.

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