A Birthday Weekend in Exeter, New Hampshire

For my birthday in 2024, Kate surprised me with a long desired pilgrimage to Exeter, New Hampshire. We went to see the iconic work of a great American architect (who wasn’t Frank Lloyd Wright). We went to experience Louis Kahn.

But on our arrival in Exeter, the town quickly reminded us of its other claim to fame…

A Famous Alien Invasion

If you were in college during the 1960s, you may remember the infamous UFO incident that occurred here. Actually, it wasn’t a single incident, but many. Over several weeks beginning in the fall of 1965, hundreds of police, politicians and private citizens saw UFOs up to 90 feet (27 meters) in diameter hovering over power lines and houses. Many people (including police) also fled pesky “saucers” that chased their cars down narrow country roads.

However, the events didn’t actually begin in Exeter, but 5 miles (8 kilometers) south– in the neighboring town of Kensington. Sightings quickly spread into Exeter. And from there, into Massachusetts and Maine.

John G. Fuller, a skeptical, but open-minded, newspaper reporter, documented his firsthand experiences in the book “Incident at Exeter: The Story of “Unidentified Flying Objects Over America Now.” He had immersed himself in the town as the invasion unfolded, and for his troubles, was part of a crowd that witnessed an Air Force fighter unsuccessfully trying to catch “an unusual object.”

Those sightings pretty much put a lie to official Air-Force explanations that folks were seeing nothing more than twinkling stars and planets, military jets on regular maneuvers, and (infamously) “swamp gas.” (Swamp gas isn’t very fast, after all.)

If the subject interests you, Fuller’s book is well worth reading.

Publicity-shy Kensington Wanted no Fame

Though the action actually began in Kensington, the small town wanted no UFO notoriety. Exeter was more than willing to take up that gauntlet, and 60 years later, they still host an “Exeter UFO Festival”:

Unfortunately, Kate and I hadn’t heard about the festival and breezed into town a week early. It must have been a happening though. And (mostly) cheery aliens already greeted us from sidewalks and shop windows:

Then, Louis Kahn’s Stunning Library

The real reason we came was to visit the unique Louis Kahn Library at Phillips Exeter Academy. The building’s Wiki page says it’s “the largest secondary school library in the world, containing 160,000 volumes over nine levels with a shelf capacity of 250,000 volumes.” But we came to soak in its unusual architecture.

Though it was a gift from the school’s Class of 1945, a full 15 years would pass before initial design conceptions became final contemporary plans. The school gave the commission to Kahn in 1965 and the building opened six years later. Then in 1997, the American Institute of Architects gave it their prestigious Twenty-five Year Award as a “building of enduring significance.”

Kahn had a distinctive architectural style. When younger, he subscribed to the minimalist 1920’s International Style. But by midlife, after touring ancient ruins in Italy, Greece and Egypt, he started  building “structures of massive monumentality.” The library, for instance, resembles a Roman “square Coliseum”… but with its monumental 111x111x80-foot brick block eased by clever broken-corner light wells and unfinished teak window accents:

The 9-story building is cleverly structured like an onion with three consecutive shells surrounding a huge atrium core. The outside brick shell sits on the largest concrete slab (1,000 cubic yards) ever poured in the state in a single day.

One accesses the building through a somewhat hidden entrance. And ascends a grand circular staircase into the 82-foot-high atrium:

In a glance, one instantly sees the circulation desk, reference area and towering book stacks. It’s also impossible to miss the stunning interior support shell– with tons of unfinished concrete poured around 30-foot-wide circular openings and framing views into seven levels of metal bookshelves:

And on all floors, sandwiched between the inner concrete and outer brick shells, are a student computer lab, viewing area for videotapes and DVDs, listening areas for music, faculty offices, open-air lounges, informal class/meeting rooms, meditation zones, and 210 sun-drenched wood study carrels:

Then high above it all, a massive clerestory light well rests on a 165-ton poured-concrete cross beam:

If You Want to Go

Though Phillips Exeter Academy is an exclusive private school, Louis Kahn required that library management make the entire space available to public tours and cultural events. Visitors not associated with the school must make reservations, and on arrival at the library door, call a provided phone number to begin their free two hours of unguided exploration.

Among the cultural resources available to anyone is a grand piano that students and visitors can play– but only for entertainment (not practice), and for up to 30 minutes between 5 and 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday:

Louis Kahn’s son Nathaniel produced an Oscar-nominated 2003 documentary My Architect: A Son’s Journey. At this writing, it’s streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and the Criterion Channel. There also appears to be a free copy on YouTube.

BUT ONE SMALL HEAD’S-UP: When visiting Exeter, NH, you’d be hard pressed to find a more convenient base of operations than the beautiful Exeter Inn. I must warn you, though, that– in our room at least– the shower valve did not contain a working scald-protection mechanism. During my shower, people elsewhere in the building flushed toilets four times… and I emerged with four red discs on my chest. I still recommend the hotel. It’s wonderful. But you may have to dodge hot water!

–Dave Powell is a Westford, Mass., writer and avid amateur photographer.

Share this post: