This project was made possible through government grants and the sheer determination and persistence of the borough manager, Mr. Laverne (Bud) Rettew. Bud asked us to help the borough with this project and I am glad he did. Repurposing existing buildings is one of our specialties, and in my opinion, is the best kind of “green building”. 

To make this building work as a public library, we needed to bring it up to current building code standards, make it handicapped accessible, improve its energy efficiency and modernize the interior layout and finishes. The exterior was also freshened up by removing unnecessary “things” tacked on for various reasons over the years.

Although the building underwent a total makeover, we left two things inside from the banking days. One is the mid-century wall clock above the bank vault installed when the building underwent its last major renovation in the early 1960’s and the other is the original ornate bank vault door installed in the early 1900’s.

Since public monies were used to complete this project, it was required to be advertised for public bid. The lowest qualified bidder was selected to be the contractor. We were very fortunate that Warfel Construction of Lancaster, PA was selected to complete this project. It ended up being a real team effort thanks to them.

Exterior photography by Gifford Images