The Bayport Public Library, which has been closed since August, will celebrate its grand reopening on Saturday.
The library underwent a $2.4 million dollar renovation, which included a “refresh” of all three floors, said Library Director Jill Smith.
Highlights of the renovation include: an expanded children’s area; new restrooms; new small conference and study spaces; new carpeting; new lighting and remodeled entrances. One of the three upstairs meeting spaces has been turned into a “wet lab for programming that can get a little messy,” Smith said. “It’s already been booked by the Girl Scouts.”
Historical details like the library’s Log Room and fireplaces were refurbished and enhanced, Smith said. The Log Room is believed to have been part of the original White Pine Inn, which was built in 1925 and renovated into the library in 1990.
Smith said they tried to make the building more welcoming while keeping its historic character intact.
“I think the Log Room is my favorite,” Smith said. “The walls and the ceiling of the room are covered with logs. The logs were all refinished, and we have brand-new lighting that really makes the log ceiling pop and shows off the fireplace in the room.
“I gasped when I first saw the stone on the fireplace going all the way up to the ceiling.”
The renovation was paid for through mostly private donations; the city also contributed about $100,000, Smith said.
The Foundation for Bayport Public Library is hosting a number of events to celebrate the library’s makeover.
A ribbon cutting will be 2 p.m. Saturday. Another ribbon cutting with the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce will be 3 p.m. April 25.
An “Evening at the Library” will be 7-9 p.m. April 21, and a “Children and Family Open House” will be 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 26.
For more information, go to www.bayportlibrary.org.
