We start our tour at 80 Second Street, at the corner of Church Street. The stately building with the big lawn is Athens’ public library. If you walk up to the front left corner of the building, you can see where it says 1907, the year of its construction, and then walk up the stairs, into the entryway and the small building, all featured in the first film of our tour.
When Daniel Redfield Everts, born 1794, grew up in Athens, the community had no public library—his pastor gave the youth some books and a small room with light to study in. A successful business career took him away from Athens, but D.R. Evarts didn’t forget his hometown, and left funds to build this public library. The building still stands strong, and with over 20,000 visits each year residents are able to borrow books and movies, use the computers and wifi, and take advantage of free, creative programming for all ages, most of it run by a volunteer board.
A (dirty) little secret to the library’s past is its use in the late 70s as a location for an adult film, in that brief but arguably glorious era of American cinema when adult films were mainstream. The 1976 film “Alice in Wonderland” featured all the main characters from the famous book, but in a X-rated musical fantasy about a young librarian’s sexual awakening. The opening sequence, which does not contain any graphic content but does contain a little innuendo, is below.
Folks say that the filmmakers didn’t tell the town or the library the truth about the nature of the film, which starred a Playboy bunny from nearby Chatham. The actress went on to have a role in, among other films, Meatballs. The film also includes scenes shot at nearby Olana State Historic Site. Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars!
While you’re here, be sure to check out the Library’s capital campaign to make the building accessible to all–Ramp Up the Evarts–and make a donation!
Since it is a musical, here’s also an excerpt of the first song, in which Alice lets her hair down, just after the scene above.
Walk back downtown, to Second and Franklin, right where local businesses Crossroads Brewing Company and Athens Rooster stand.