Local Treasures Preserved: Update on the Boulder Creek Library Renovation
By Julie Horner
Renovation at the Boulder Creek Library is underway. The library temporarily closed in March, 2020 for a much needed upgrade using Measure S funds, but the project was stalled by contractor bidding issues, the pandemic, and then the fire. Santa Cruz Public Libraries Regional Manager, Laura Whaley, said, “It took so long to get to this point.”
Former District Supervisor Joe Cucchiara originally paved the way for the library to be built on 1.3 acres on West Park Drive in Boulder Creek in the early 80s. The library received an architectural prize for its community fueled design brought to fruition by architect Jeff Oberdorfer. The 4,678 square foot building was dedicated on March 1, 1985 with artwork from San Lorenzo Valley artists integral from inception.
Whaley began advocating for necessary upgrades as branch manager back in the early two-thousands. “It’s a beautiful building, but our infrastructure was very 1984.” The renovation solves a host of issues. The main entrance, circulation desk, and restrooms are being upgraded to comply with accessibility mandates. The children’s area, reading room, and community meeting room will be more user friendly. Updates to outdated plumbing and insufficient electrical infrastructure will bring the library to current standards. Whaley says the library will be more flexible and open.
Preserving the Hennig mosaic and the Mackie masks
The library featured artist installations that were embedded in the original interior hardscape. Because of the interior redesign, some of the art has been uninstalled and moved out of the library. Boulder Creek ceramic artist, Dan Hennig said, “Just as you walk in, on the floor in the center there, that was our art.” The large round mosaic is composed of ceramic tiles hand-shaped and fired at Hennig studios, each depicting a variety of authors and musicians and nods to film and floppy disks. Fellow ceramic artist and partner Laurie Hennig said, “Our piece was kind of dated, but it gave a sense of history.”
Area residents had been purposefully brought into the design planning process. “It was a really big deal to have a new library for our town,” Dan said. “Our old library was that little annex building where the Sheriff offices are now. The whole community felt like they had a part in creating the design.” Laurie noted, “A lot of artists contributed. It was fun to go to the meetings and talk about how things are going to get laid out. It was a very open process.”
Ceramic artist Julie Mackie created the whimsical masks that were installed in the tile enclosure around the wood stove. According to Cucchiara, the faces are artistic representations of people she observed in Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond, and she studied the architectural plans to determine their location in the alcove.
The Hennig and Mackie pieces have been removed. Artwork that will remain includes the cast bronze sculpture in the front yard by Bonnie Chancellor of the mountain woman reading to three children, and the stained glass window above the circulation desk designed by Virginia Fordice in memory of her son, Gunnar Erik Fordice.
From one beloved organization to another
When construction began in July, Whaley, Linda Skeff, and Sheila DeLaney with support of the Valley Women’s Club (VWC), collaborated to save these unique pieces of art and keep them in Boulder Creek. “The contractor agreed to do everything he could to preserve the art.” Mackie’s masks and the Hennig mosaic were carefully cut from the places they had occupied for nearly 40 years and were set aside. “I don’t think anyone really envisioned that the art would be removed,” Whaley said.
Skeff next contacted Hallie Greene at the Boulder Creek Recreation and Parks District to ask if they’d like to take the pieces at the Bear Creek Community Center. Greene accepted them into storage at Bear Creek. Laurie Hennig said of the mosaic, “I think it would be fun out in the garden.”
With an all-natives landscape project also in progress facilitated by Americorps and sponsored by the VWC, Whaley said the Boulder Creek Library is expected to reopen in October, 2021, “fingers crossed.”
Boulder Creek Branch Library, 13390 West Park Ave, Boulder Creek, CA 95006
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