By Emily Rennie, Archivist for the Levittown History Collection
Just before 3 in the afternoon on Friday, June 30 in 1972, Milly Mundy was working at the Levittown Public Library, using the adding machine at the end of her desk when she smelled smoke.¹ She looked over through an open door to the basement, and there she saw the flames stretching towards the ceiling.¹ Milly calmly began telling the staff to evacuate.¹
At the same time, Stephen Hauptman was shelving books in storage when he heard crackling and turned to see the thickening smoke.² He walked down the wide passageway towards the fire where he found a fire extinguisher near the door to Technical Services.² Unfortunately, he had no idea how to use one.²
When Milly reached Ken Anderson and told him about the fire, he went to see it for himself.³ Ken entered the basement from Technical Services and stood pensively, a few feet from the fire.³ That’s when he noticed Stephen holding a fire extinguisher in his hands.³ Ken took the extinguisher from Stephen and ran into the fire, trying to put it out, but the heat was already too intense.³ He left, back through the Technical Services door, and evacuated the building with everyone else.³
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Firemen Entering Levittown Public Library, 1972 June 30. Photograph by Shelton Photographers. |
The fire department arrived quickly and the fire was extinguished within about 30 minutes of its being noticed.⁴ Still, a significant amount of damage was left by the fire and the water used to extinguish it. While there was no structural damage, there was “extensive destruction of the electrical and telephone systems,” caused by the intense heat.⁴ A large traveling display collection was completely lost to the blaze, and there was widespread damage to many periodicals and other materials.⁴
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Damage caused by the Library Fire, 1972. Photographs by Joseph J. Feralise. |
Among the damages were two historic paintings from the Levittown History Collection. Each of the paintings document an early phase of Levittown’s construction during the late 1940s. The first painting, depicting the model house site– where families came to tour a Levitt home before anxiously lining up to purchase one– had a polyethylene cover that shrunk, bubbled, and melted into the painted surface, causing the paint to peel off in some places.⁵ The other, showing the five original Cape Cod styles, had severe burns along its edges and was punctured twice through its back.⁵ Both were sent away for conservation treatment and restoration, and each was expertly repaired to resemble itself as it was before the fire.
Photograph of the damage to the front of the historic paintings depicting the Levittown Model Home Site and the Levittown Cape Cod Models of 1947.
Photographs of the restored historic paintings depicting the Levittown Model Home Site and the Levittown Cape Cod Models of 1947.
Today, the restored paintings remain in the care of the Levittown History Collection, and on display in the library as silent survivors of the 1972 fire. Their damage, still subtly visible, are reminders that stewarding knowledge and history is an ongoing responsibility for the library– one that requires vigilance, resilience, and a great amount of care.
References
- (n.d.). Statement by Mrs. Mildred Mundy on the events of June 30, 1972 regarding the fire. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (History of Levittown Public Library Collection), Levittown, N.Y.
- (n.d.). Statement by Stephen Hauptman concerning the fire on June 30, 1972. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (History of Levittown Public Library Collection), Levittown, N.Y.
- (n.d.). Statement by Ken Anderson concerning the fire on June 30, 1972. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (History of Levittown Public Library Collection), Levittown, N.Y.
- Levittown Public Library. (1972, October 11). Untitled [Library fire damage report]. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (History of Levittown Public Library Collection), Levittown, N.Y.
- Honig, M. (1972, November 14). Report on condition and description of treatment. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (History of Levittown Public Library Collection), Levittown, N.Y.