Rosenberg Restored--Phase IV

Community members are invited to the Rosenberg Library to admire the recent interior renovations which returned many of the architectural and design elements of the historic Rosenberg Wing to their original luster. The Rosenberg Restored--Phase IV celebration will take place Saturday, April 30th at the library from 6:00-8:30PM to coincide with ArtWalk. Exciting new museum displays will be unveiled, including interactive exhibits for children. Musical entertainment will be provided in the Grand Hallway and refreshments will be served.

Visitors arriving through the 23rd Street entrance are afforded a broad view of some of the sweeping changes. The space has been brightened up with fresh paint similar to the original color scheme of the interior and plaster repairs to the walls and ceiling. Refurbished marble staircases leading to the third floor museum area and meeting rooms flank the Grand Hallway. Dramatic improvements have also been made to the McCullough Room; the original ceiling, windows and wood floor were restored. Historically appropriate lighting fixtures have been added throughout the second and third floors. New carpeting, lights and Golden Oak furniture warm the atmosphere in the Gibson Room where visitors can read or hop onto the library’s Wi-Fi. The Friends of the Library have expanded shelving for stocking gently used books at discount prices in the old cage area. The museum is proud to showcase the bell from Mission Concepción in San Antonio, now housed in the Grand Hallway.

Improvements continue on the third floor of the Rosenberg Wing with new carpeting, paint, lighting, and refinished wood throughout. Perhaps most noticeable of the third floor building enhancements will be the reopening of the Fox Room. Natural light accentuates the freshly installed quarter-saw longleaf pine flooring, professionally refurbished paneling, Hunter-Douglas window blinds, and new meeting room furniture. The Fox Room will also feature a historically appropriate lighting system including newly created mahogany torchiere floor lamps. Community members will be able to reserve this room for meetings.

While construction has been ongoing, the museum staff has been busy revamping the Galveston: Treasure Isle of the Gulf exhibit in the Lykes Gallery and preparing to reopen the Pottery of the Americas exhibit in the Hutchings Gallery. Two new displays will accompany the refashioned museum space. The third floor hallway gallery will feature an exhibit on legendary glass-maker René Lalique. Several Lalique pieces from the Rosenberg Library’s famed museum collection will be on display, including the exquisite Vase Bacchantes. The Harris Gallery will showcase a solo exhibit of artist Clyde Harold Wortham. His talents as an oil painter are exemplified by numerous vibrant still life paintings.

Visitors will be able to feel some of the improvements that have been made to the HVAC system. The 1960s and 1970s era air handlers and chillers have been upgraded to provide enhanced climate control throughout the building and to protect the library’s incomparable archive and museum collections from island humidity. A state-of-the-art storage space was also built for the museum’s paintings which will help preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

The Rosenberg Library was established by a generous bequest from Henry Rosenberg upon his death in 1893. Eames & Young of St. Louis was chosen as the architectural design firm by the library’s Board of Directors in 1901 and construction began in October of 1902. The building was dedicated on June 22, 1904, Henry Rosenberg’s birthday, and is constructed of brick, stone and terra cotta in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The library has undergone many renovations over the years, including the addition of the Moody Wing in the early 1970s.

Executive Director John Augelli has overseen a number of important construction projects during his tenure at the Rosenberg Library as well as multiple large and small-scale building improvement projects at other libraries over the course of his career. Prior to Hurricane Ike in 2008, extensive repairs and enhancements had just been completed on the exterior of the building. The library’s Board of Directors was honored by the Galveston Historical Foundation with the Sally B. Wallace Award in 2009 for its exceptional dedication to historical preservation on the exterior improvement project. Following the hurricane, efforts were made to replace and relocate all of the critical building systems that could be moved to the upper floors of the building and upgrade large portions of the ceiling and lighting systems in the Moody Wing. This recent round of renovations to the Rosenberg Wing interior is the most significant the building has undergone in the library’s history. These upgrades have been made possible by the Houston Endowment, the Bush-Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund, the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, a bequest from Hugh and Evalyn Gibson, as well as many donations from other foundations and patrons.

The project architects for the Phase IV renovations are from the firm of Ford, Powell & Carson (FPC), which has been involved in numerous historical renovations on Galveston Island and elsewhere in Texas, including the Alamo and the Texas State Capitol building. The general contractor on the Phase IV renovation work is the Galveston-based company Building Solutions. Looking forward, the Board of Directors and staff, along with FPC, are currently finalizing plans to rebuild the first floor of the building, which will include flood control measures to provide protection from future damage.

The library would like to celebrate the hard work that has gone into revitalizing this valuable community asset and thank its library patrons for their patience during the construction process with the Rosenberg Restored--Phase IV event. Please contact library Administration at 409-763-8854 x121 with questions or visit the library’s website: http://www.rosenberg-library.org/.

By:  Maurine Nichols
Rosenberg Library
409.763.8854 x118

Rosenberg Library to Open on Mondays

Beginning Monday, April 4th, the Rosenberg Library will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. In preparation for its expanded hours, the library has added several new staff members in recent months. The Rosenberg Library is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Since Hurricane Ike, the library’s Board of Directors and staff have worked hard to reestablish and, in some areas, even exceed the level of service provided pre-Ike despite a smaller operating budget, fewer staff members, and the total devastation of the first floor of the building. Adding a full day to its hours of operation marks another important milestone in the library’s efforts to improve service to Galveston Island residents.

Visitors to the library are encouraged to take advantage of the facility’s many resources including the latest print and electronic books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs, free wireless internet access, a computer lab, reading areas, and exceptional museum and archive collections. The library also regularly offers youth programs and computer skills classes. Please visit the Rosenberg Library website for more information about its collections, services and upcoming events: http://www.rosenberg-library.org/.


By:
Maurine Sweeney
Special Projects Librarian
Rosenberg Library

Gibson Reading Room Renovation

Photo by John Augelli

Green lamps with outlets, in the newly renovated Gibson Reading Room

Down Came the Walls

One word has been whispered, spoken, and even exclaimed more than any other at the Rosenberg Library this week: “Wow!”

On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, all entering the library were greeted by a renovated and open space void of the particle board, plastic tarp, and steel frame construction barrier walls.

Over Valentine’s Day weekend, the temporary walls standing guard between the Gibson Reading Room and the old cage area during renovations came down. The response of staff and patrons has been unanimous…we love it!

This phase of renovations has opened up the grand hallway between the north and south staircases. The regal marble flooring continues from entryway to just before the Gibson Rooms at which point a semi-rotunda of marble meets new sage vintage vine patterned carpeting.

With the walls of renovation removed, the Gibson Reading Room and old cage area (Gibson North) mirror each other, reflecting classic warmth and one-of-a-kind wood column partitions that were constructed from the original paneling of, and based upon the design of, the 3rd floor Fox Room’s original children’s department. The magazines and periodicals will move back from the old cage room into the Gibson Reading Room. The Friends of the Library book sale items will soon find a home in Gibson North (old cage).

Cherry Oak blinds now grace the windows of our 2nd floor children’s and circulation departments as well as the Gibson rooms. The floor in the reference section now sports crisp, slate colored carpeting. Renovations continue on the 3rd floor, though the Morgan Room, ideal for small group meetings, is once again open, and reservations for using the Morgan Room can be made online.

To complete flooring renovations on the 2nd level, the marble tiles will be polished and finished on Saturday, February 19th. The Rosenberg Library will be closing at 5:30pm to complete the marble floor preservation process.

A New Phase!

Renovations at the library have taken a new turn! This last Monday, the Rosenberg Library switched to a new phase in the renovations schedule. The Gibson North room (cage area) has been reopened to the public while the Gibson Reading Room has been closed for further renovation work. Patrons can now view the beautiful new archway in the newly opened space, new carpeting, freshly painted walls, and fully restored original Rosenberg Library tables and chairs. The archway, which will also be mirrored in the Gibson Reading Room, follows the designs for the woodwork in the historic children's department on the third floor (now the Fox Room which is also currently being restored). The McCullough room is still under construction, but the stairway leading to the third floor has also been fully restored. All the old carpet has been ripped up to reveal the beautiful original marble.

Heber Taylor, editor of the Galveston Daily News, wrote a gleaming article about the success of the ongoing restoration projects at the Rosenberg Library in the Sunday, December 19 edition of the Daily News. Mr. Taylor encourages all residents of the island to stop by the library to "boost morale" and see where the project is headed. To see the article and pictures of some of the restoration work, including wainscoting in the McCullough Room, visit here: http://galvestondailynews.com/story/199078/

Restoration work will still continue at the library until tentatively March. Please, just as Mr. Taylor suggested, stop by and see our progress! We're all extremely excited about the new changes. Thank you for being part of the oldest public library in the state of Texas. We apologize for the inconveniences of the construction activities, and we appreciate your patience as we revitalize our beautiful historic structure. Happy Holidays from all of us at the Rosenberg Library!

Holiday Season at the Rosenberg Library

The Holidays are upon us, and our Christmas trees are up. The Circulation desk has stockings, lights and decorations from tinsel to toys and trains. Bells, poinsettias, and tinsel galore, the Rosenberg Library has the Holidays planned and more!

Upcoming children's programs:

Kids!
Breakfast with Santa
December 11
10:30 am
Elves Workshop
2:30 pm

All events are free!

Coming December 23:
Live Performance! Frosty the Snowman

For more infomation click here.

Interior Renovations & Restoration

Started in July 2010
Summer & Fall 2010 Project
Our 2010 building improvement project will focus on the restoration of the second and third floors of the Rosenberg Wing of the building and will include major HVAC and museum storage upgrades. The scope of the restoration work will encompass painting and plaster repairs to the Grand Hallway, Founder's Room, historical staircases, the complete renovation of the Gibson Reading Room, cage area, McCullough Meeting Room, Fox Meeting Room, new carpeting for the Rosenberg Wing second and third floor hallways, replacement of the building's aging chillers and the ancient air handlers in the Rosenberg Wing attic with new energy efficient equipment and the creation of better climate controlled storage spaces for our museum collections.

This round of interior improvements is being funded by generous grants from the Houston Endowment, the Bush-Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund, the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, a bequest from Hugh & Evalyn Gibson, as well as many donations from other foundations and patrons.

Thank you for being a part of the oldest public library in the state of Texas. We apologize for the inconvenience of the construction activities, and we appreciate your patience as we revitalize our beautiful historic structure.

Details:
Fox Room (3rd floor)
Gibson Reading Room (Main floor)
Gibson North (Main floor)
Grand Hall (Main - floor)
Lykes Gallery (3rd floor)
McCullough Room (Main floor)