When Norway Hall opened on Railroad Avenue, it had no electricity, water or gas. Lodge members dug a one-block trench to bring in water and ran wires along the treetops to a member's house for power. A kerosene stove heated the room. For almost 60 years the hall hosted dances, wedding receptions, bazaars and parties, until the lodge closed it in 1991.
Most of Glen Head's history with that building is about the library that followed, and this year the library moved out. Both buildings are now in daily use. The old hall on Railroad Avenue now serves families every weekday, and the new building on Glen Head Road was designed so its meeting rooms can run apart from the library itself. Those rooms are where this fall's concerts, cooking nights and movie nights take place, which is close to what Norway Hall was built for.
A social hall that became a starter library
The two library sources give different years for the building's origin. The Gold Coast Public Library's history page says it was built in 1930 as a Norwegian social hall. The library's local history page on Norway Hall gives 1932 as the year it opened. Either way, the building had been in Glen Head for about 75 years when the newly formed library district opened there on August 1, 2005.
Fitting a library into a lodge hall took some work. As the Herald reported in 2020, the building had to be raised two feet so the children's section could fit in the basement. In the Herald's coverage of this spring's grand opening, Library Director Michael Morea called it "a starter library." The district had always known it would need a new home. The same article says space and parking were tight on Railroad Avenue for years, and the library rented an annex to make room for services and events.
Who bought Norway Hall, and on what terms
The library board looked for a buyer for about a year. It set three conditions: the buyer had to be a good fit for the community, had to commit to preserving the building's historic character, and had to have the means to close at a fair price. The board chose the owner of Little Bumble Bee Daycare, and voters approved the sale 133 to 2 in a spring 2025 referendum.
According to the library's sale announcement, the price was $925,000. That is 63% more than the library paid for the building in 2005, and it falls within the range of an appraisal the library commissioned in fall 2024. The building sold as is. The announcement says the buyer, a lifelong Glen Head resident, has committed to keeping intact the character of the building "established as Norway Hall." The proceeds go toward keeping library costs steady for taxpayers in future years. The library's fall newsletter says the proposed 2027 budget uses $100,000 of that money.
The Herald's April 2026 profile explains what moving in involved. Alissa Jackson started Little Bumble Bee at her Glen Head home in 2011. Moving to 50 Railroad Ave. required new fire safety and Department of Health inspections and a new license from the state Office of Children and Family Services. She also needed Town of Oyster Bay approval to operate without the usual minimum of 15 parking spaces, because she does not own the nearby lot. The daycare held an open house that spring, with face painting and use of the playground, and opened the following Monday.
The layout inside the hall changed again. Infants are now split into two rooms, six weeks to nine months and 10 to 18 months, with separate toddler rooms and preschool rooms for children three to five.
| 50 Railroad Avenue | 146 Glen Head Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Norwegian social hall, built 1930 or opened 1932 | Former Halm Industries printing-press site |
| Library years | August 2005 to March 2026 | Opened March 20, 2026 |
| Current use | Little Bumble Bee Daycare | Gold Coast Public Library |
| Key 2026 change | Separate infant, toddler and preschool rooms | Meeting rooms with separate access, teen suite, art gallery, reading garden |
What the land on Glen Head Road used to be
The new library sits on land the district spent years trying to get. The library's May/June 2015 newsletter mentions talks with Halm Industries over 180 Glen Head Road. Halm built offset and digital printing presses. In 2019 the Herald described the parcel as a former press manufacturing site that had been for sale since 2014. On December 8, 2020, voters approved a bond to buy 2.62 acres there and build a new library. The Herald reported the borrowing at $10.8 million through New York State Dormitory Authority bonds. At one point the project nearly lost the site, and the Town of Oyster Bay and the Town of North Hempstead coordinated financing so the library could secure the property before the bond funds came through in 2023.
A building designed for rooms that run on their own
The new building is 11,000 square feet. Its layout keeps the meeting spaces separate from the main library areas and gives them their own entrance. It also has expanded study areas, a teen suite, an art gallery and outdoor space. At the ribbon cutting, Nassau Library System director Caroline Ashby noted that Gold Coast is the newest library district in Nassau County and now has the county's newest library building.
The library's own numbers show how quickly the building filled up. Its fall newsletter reports several hundred new library cardholders since the March 20 opening. Physical circulation is up by a third compared with a typical April through July at 50 Railroad Avenue, and requests for community meeting space keep coming in. Those meeting rooms are the main gain from the move. The Railroad Avenue building had no room for programs, which is why the library rented an annex.
The outdoor space links the two buildings. The Glen Garden Club donated the planters and plantings at the new library, and its members kept 50 Railroad Avenue looking beautiful for more than 20 years. The Friends Reading Garden, co-sponsored by the Friends of the Gold Coast Public Library, has seating paid for by donations and a sculpture of a child reading by local artist Dr. Ed Cohen. The library's Stroller Parking and Reading Garden page says the sheltered area is open. You can reach it from the parking lot closest to Glen Head Road, or through the Children's Program Room when the room is not in use.
Still being finished
As of the fall newsletter, mailed in late summer, the library said it was still completing construction. Several items were described as upcoming:
- Outdoor signage, expected "in the near future."
- Engraved bricks from the Friends Buy a Brick program, due for the Reading Garden in late September.
- A Library of Things, described as "soon-to-be-launched."
- A Seed Library, which already has online planting and harvesting guides for arugula, basil, beans, beets, carrots, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, lettuce and flowers.
Some of these may be finished by the time you visit.
The rooms on the calendar, November into December
The library's November and December schedule shows the new meeting rooms in regular use:
- Wednesday, November 4, 6:30 p.m. "Holiday Gatherings Never Tasted So Good with Chef Rob." Chef Rob makes an antipasto cheese dip, classic French onion soup, and chicken topped with melted cheese and caramelized onions. There is a $5 nonrefundable fee.
- Sunday, November 8, 2 to 3 p.m. A folk-blues concert by Tal Naccarato in Room AB.
- Monday, November 16, 7 p.m. Turkey Fruit Centerpiece in Room A. Thems the Breaks Chocolate and More shows how to make a turkey from a pineapple and fruit kabobs. There is a $5 fee.
- Friday, November 20. Friday Night Movie: The Odyssey (2026). Pizza, drinks and snacks start at 6:30 p.m., the film starts at 7 p.m., and there is an intermission.
- Wednesdays, December 2 and 16, 6:30 p.m. Ceramic Gingerbread House with artist Chris Vivas. In the first class you shape the house in clay and Vivas takes it home to fire it. In the second class you paint it with acrylics. There is a $10 nonrefundable fee.
- Friday, December 4, 2 p.m. An afternoon screening of Network.
The December dates come from the newsletter, so check the library's online calendar for registration and any changes. Morea summed up the building at the ribbon cutting, as the Herald reported: "This is the community's space, and we're going to make sure that is always the case."
If you'd like to talk about how buildings like Norway Hall get new uses in Glen Head, or about your own home's history, Karen Sharf would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
