Saratoga News

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Saratoga's out to make a little history at site of first library

By Shannon Burkey

The historic building on Oak Street in the Saratoga Village that housed the city's first library has received a nomination to be added to the National Registrar of Historic Places.

Beth Wyman, a local historian, wrote and submitted the nomination to the California Historic Resources Commission on behalf of the Saratoga Historic Preservation Commission.

"It needed to be done," Wyman said. "This would be very prestigious and would give a lot of power to help preserve the building."

Before the building, which was built in 1927 and served as the community's only library for 51 years, can make it onto the national list, it must be approved at the state level. The nomination is then sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior for final approval, according to Wyman.

"The nomination was approved by the state's historical resources commission on Oct. 27. Now it has to go to the federal level for approval," said Wyman, who anticipates it being considered in January or February. "We've never heard of any nomination turned back at the federal level after it got through the state."

Three years ago, the historic preservation commission decided to nominate all city-owned historical buildings to the registrar. Those on the list included the Saratoga Historical Museum, the McWilliams House, the Warner Hutton House and the former library building. But because two of the buildings--the Saratoga Historical Museum and the McWilliams House--had been moved from their original locations, they were not potential candidates.

"We were encouraged to go ahead with the Warner Hutton House and the library, though," Wyman said.

The Warner Hutton House was approved last February, and Wyman said she hopes the same will happen for the library building, which she feels has a unique history.

"Personally, I think the architect was the most interesting part of this story," Wyman said.

The architect, Eldridge T. Spencer, was the son-in-law of the Saratoga Foothill Study Club president, who led the fundraising efforts to build the library. After completion of the library, Spencer went on to be appointed Yosemite National Park architect and was Stanford University's first planning director, designing the Tresidder Memorial and the first increment of the Stanford Linear Accelerator.

In 1978 a new library was built in Saratoga, but for the next five years the original building served as a secondary library. In 1983 the original building ceased operating as a library.

Today the former library building is home to the Friends of the Library's nonprofit book exchange, the Book-Go-Round. The Book-Go-Round has been in its location for 23 years, raising money for the current library.

With the recognition it is soon to receive, Book-Go-Round manager Mary Jeanne Fenn said she hopes more people in the community will begin to take notice of the book exchange.

"We're happy to have the building recognized as a historical part of Saratoga," Fenn said. "Eighty years is pretty good for a building these days."

Among other reasons Wyman believes the building's nomination should be approved is because the building is still being used in a way that the Saratogans who fought hard to have it built intended it to be.

"This building is special because it has lasted all this time and is still fulfilling the vision of its founders--to serve the community as a library," Wyman said. "Even though it is now the Book-Go-Round, it is still serving the library."