The Goodman Library is a historic library located at 1219 1st St. in Napa,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Built in 1901, the library was paid for by George E. Goodman and built on land donated by Goodman. Architect Luther M. Turton designed the building in the

Richardson Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesq ...

style, which can be seen in its use of rusticated stone, round arch windows, and massive scale. The design represented a shift in Napa architecture, which was mainly Victorian prior to the library's construction.

History

The Goodman Library is the longest-operating library in California, partially due to a clause in Goodman's donation of the building. Goodman stipulated that the building would remain in the city's possession as long as it served as a library but would otherwise revert to his heirs. When Napa moved its city library to a different building in the 1970s, the Napa County Historical Society acquired the building for its research library so it would still satisfy its original purpose. At one time, the library housed both the historical society and Napa County Landmarks. The library was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on January 21, 1974. The building was damaged by the

2014 South Napa earthquake The 2014 South Napa earthquake occurred in the North San Francisco Bay Area on August 24 at . At 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale and with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''), the event was the largest in the San Francisco Bay Ar ...

. A $1.75M contract to repair damage to the building including bracing and a new roof was awarded in January 2017. The work began in April 2017 and was completed in early 2018. The Napa County Historical Society reopened their operations by summer 2018 and maintain library services and an exhibit space to this day.

References

External links

Napa County Historical Society
* {{National Register of Historic Places Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in California Romanesque Revival architecture in California Beaux-Arts architecture in California History of Napa County, California Library buildings completed in 1901 Buildings and structures in Napa County, California Napa, California National Register of Historic Places in Napa County, California 1901 establishments in California