LYNN — City officials, friends, and colleagues of the late former Mayor Patrick J. McManus gathered Saturday outside the storied Lynn Public Library to dedicate the 209-year-old building to the city’s 55th mayor on what would’ve been his 70th birthday.
McManus, the longest consecutive serving mayor in Lynn’s history, held the office from 1992 through 2001, during which time he directed $10.7 million into the library.
“Education was paramount in his life,” said Ted Grant, publisher of Essex Media Group and The Daily Item and a friend of McManus who spearheaded the project. “Pat graduated Lynn English, Bowdoin College, earned an MBA at Suffolk University and a law degree from Boston College.”
In the upcoming months, a bronze plaque with McManus’ name will be placed in front of the building and money will be raised to renovate the building prior to a reopening Gala, Grant said.
Mayor Jared Nicholson said “McManus clearly touched so many throughout his career.”
Nicholson added that while he did not have the privilege of knowing McManus personally, he sees his legacy reflected throughout the city in the public schools, in the public works department, and even with the mayor’s reputation that McManus built at the national conference of mayors.
“Mayor McManus clearly loved the library and was passionate about education, and we hope to continue to grow and cultivate that love of learning with everyone who walks through these doors and will be walking by this plaque,” Nicholson said.
Member of the Library Board of Trustees Harry MacCabe said the McManus dedication will serve as a way to welcome everyone, young and old, from everywhere in the city to the library.
“Lynn Public Library is for everyone,” he said. “It is a building filled with history, hope and opportunity. Maybe a young person coming through the front door and growing from his or her experience in the library, will, like Pat, want to be the mayor of this great city some day.”
The Hon. Garrett J. McManus, the former mayor’s brother and Associate Justice of Essex County Juvenile Court, spoke on behalf of the family. He said dedicating the library building to the former mayor was appropriate given his brother’s love for learning and education. He thanked the City of Lynn for the great honor.
He added that the McManus family loved the library and would spend “hours combing through the stacks looking for books we hadn’t read before.
“It is the most beautiful building that we have here in Lynn,” Judge McManus said.
Beaming through the ceremony were the former mayor’s wife, Deb, and their children Laura, Marni, John, and Susanna.
His daughter Laura McManus said “It is an honor to have the library named after him, it meant a lot to him and he did a lot for the city.”
