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Napa, California

August 30, 2014

My great great great grandfather, George E. Goodman, built the Goodman Library in 1901 and donated it and the land to the city of Napa. The Romanesque style, as seen in the use of rusticated stone and round arch windows, marked a shift in Napa architecture which at the time was mostly Victorian. The Goodman Library is the longest-operating library in California due to a clause in George's donation that the building will remain in the city's possession as long as it serves as a library, but would otherwise revert to his heirs. What?  Say that again?  Hmmmm, definitely something to look into one of these days... But alas, when Napa moved its main library to a different building in the 1970s, the Napa Historical Society started using our this building as a 'research library' so it would satisfy the deed conditions. Last week, when a 6.0 quake shook Napa, our the library along with many other older buildings in downtown, was hit pretty hard. We are all waiting to see what's next for this family heirloom.