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"There's nothing like natural light through stained glass," said Katie Gleim-Clark, who owns House of Design. "When the first panel was put in and the daylight went through it, it was like Oh my God!'"
Gleim-Clark bought the building on Jefferson Street in 1997, but other projects kept her from renovating it until this year.
She'd heard about the glass panels that once sparkled in the building's rotunda. But the roof leaked and, at some point, the skylight that allowed light to shine through the glass was removed and the hole boarded up. The glass panels remained in place, Gleim-Clark said. But no one noticed the darkened spot in the ceiling. She first saw the panels during the building's renovation.
It took contractors and House of Design workers about nine months to restore the library building, add a skylight and clean the glass panels for the October opening. Gleim-Clark doesn't have exact figures, but she estimates the restoration cost between $300,000 and $600,000.
The library was originally built and donated to Red Bluff by one-time resident, Elizabeth Kraft and named after her late husband, Herbert.
Los Angeles architect, Franklin P. Burnham, was hired for the project, according to Ray Schroff, Tehama County librarian. Architect plans estimated the original stained glass panel cost about $5 a square foot. But no glass artisan was mentioned for the project.
John Morton, owner of the Glass Addict in Redding, recently visited the building. He laughed at hearing the original price for the hand-crafted glasswork, encased in lead "came," used to hold the panels together. These days an eight-part dome would run between $150 to $200 a square foot, or in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, he said.
Besides the original glass, which took a crew of four people two days to clean using toothbrushes, the building's ceramic tile and oak fireplace mantles are also on display after years spent undercover. The green- and cream- tiled fireplaces, once used to heat the building, still work, Gleim-Clark said.
Pat Feldhouse was a librarian from 1967 to 1985 at the Herbert Kraft Library. The stained glass shone in the library during her tenure,
"It was beautiful in the middle of the day when the sun came through it," Feldhouse said, adding that the fireplaces were covered up.
She recalls patrons from children to the elderly and a reference staff ready to take on questions that ranged from local history to health problems in cattle.
Books were stamped by hand, and patrons were allowed to check them out for two to three weeks. Fines for overdue books were 10 cents a day, and there were always some with fines, Feldhouse said.
"And of course it just meant money for new books for us," Feldhouse said.
Gleim-Clark hopes to capture these and other library-related memories in a journal, which is available both at the library building and online at hodredbluff.com. She invites the public to take a peek at a building that's been unavailable to them for 20 years.
"We don't expect you to come in and purchase anything," Gleim-Clark said. "Come in and enjoy your library.”
And unlike the old days, the librarian won't insist on quiet.
Currents reporter Christy Lochrie can be reached at 225-8309 or at clochrie@redding.com.
I grew up Red Bluff and spent many days at the Library there, the building was beautiful and it was such a treat when my mom would take us there, its nice to hear that the building is open to the public since the library had moved years ago into the old Safeway Store by the railroad tracks, a throw back to days gone by. Anonymous | 12.03.06 - 7:13 am | # |
Most people would never have renovated the window.... What a fantastic sight. Great job and thank you! Anonymous | 12.03.06 - 8:07 am | # |
If you look at the photos, the man in the overhauls on the scaffolding is Lloyd Dietrich, the contractor who oversaw the renovation. He restored many of the elements in the library, carefully maintaining as much of the original as possible. His precision carpentry accounts in part for the beauty of the buiding. Pam Dietrich | 12.03.06 - 12:57 pm | # |
By the way, Lloyd Dietrich is 83 and still works for a living as a contractor. Pam Dietrich | 12.03.06 - 12:59 pm | # |
I had the pleasure of the "grand tour" by Lloyd Dietrich himself! He did a spectacular job. Enjoying the delight of the finished project with the man that made it come to life, was like seeing a baby in the mother's arms for the first time! Oh, and at 83, Lloyd Dietrich RUNS up and down the stairs! Kathleen Amatangelo | 12.03.06 - 4:27 pm | # |
From Someone who had the priviledge of growing up in Red Bluff, and graduating from RBHS in 1980, I send a big thank you to Lloyd Dietrich for keeping such a wonderful treasure alive for the people of Red Bluff who might not have lived there when the Library was housed there. Anonymous | 12.03.06 - 6:34 pm | # |
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