An artifact of the Jazz Age and the Great Depression. And an outstanding example of the art deco movement, which transformed American architecture during the 1920s and '30s. Bremerton's Martin Luther King Jr. Library is all those things. Rain seeps in, leaving ugly brown stains in the ceiling and sometimes soaking the books below. Restrooms are accessible only from outside the building.
Drafts pour in around the windows.
Architectural details, once celebrated and highlighted, are long since painted over or obscured by alterations that don't match the art deco design. So the Friends of the Library have embarked on an ambitious campaign to restore the 1938 structure to a state worthy of its design, its history and its namesake. The city of Bremerton is matching that with federal Community Development Block Grant Funds. The Friends of the Library is inviting the public to an open house and fund-raiser from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday in the library at 612 Fifth St. Visitors can see what the building needs and, if they wish, make donations. The event will include refreshments, door prizes, a used book sale and a speech at 1 p.m. by Mayor Lynn Horton.