Floor |
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The parquet floor in the Library’s Reading Room has always been one of its most admired features. The original floor was replaced in the 1950s after it was damaged by water used to put out the fire in the attic. Half a century of visitors, workstation reconfigurations, cabling and other operational realities eventually wore down this replacement floor to the point where it could no longer be sanded and resurfaced.
As part of the renewal project, specially skilled tradespeople were hired to lay in a new floor using the same woods of oak, cherry and walnut—every plank fitted together by tongue and groove. The new floor recreates the original design, and is beautifully finished to withstand the day-to-day busyness of a functioning library.
Reading Room floor complete. May 8, 2006
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