The Dublin Public Library has some new adornments – ones that hearken back to its distant past.
In July, the library installed new copper gutters to the front of the building. The gutters are new, but are replicas of ornate downspouts that were part of the library decades ago, dating back to 1901.
Library Board of Trustees Chair Nancy Cayford found the original gutters in a crawl space under the library in 2020, and after some research with the assistance of Lisa Foote of the Dublin Historical Society, found historical postcards featuring the Dublin Public Library, complete with the copper gutters that once decorated the front of the building.
The original gutters weren’t fit for restoration but were intact enough to serve as a template for their replacements.
With assistance from a $9,600 grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the library trustees hired metal craftsmen Ed and Peter Packard to recreate the gutters and downspouts as close to their original design as possible. The grant was awarded in the fall of 2021, with the expectation that the gutters would be crafted over the winter for installation this year. On July 9, that work came to fruition as the new gutters were installed on the library.
In addition to serving as replicas of part of the original library’s facade, the spouts are also expected to assist with ongoing water control issues at the library, as part of recent work to address drainage issues and water coming off the library roof and pooling on the lawn.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertrasncript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.